Cuba Wins Historic First Baseball5 Gold at Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics

Cuba defeated Chinese Taipei 2-0 in sets Tuesday to win the gold medal in Baseball5 at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, becoming the first country ever to capture Olympic gold in the sport, CiberCuba reported. The final, played at the Complexe Tour de l’Œuf in Diamniadio, Senegal, ended with set scores of 2-1 and 7-1 in Cuba’s favor, capping a tournament in which Baseball5 made its Olympic debut as the first discipline contested at an Olympic Games held in Africa.

The victory carried extra weight because Chinese Taipei was the only team to beat Cuba during the group stage, handing the Caribbean side a 2-0 loss with set scores of 5-3 and 5-4 — the first defeat in Cuba’s history in World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) competition, according to CiberCuba. VYX Deportes described the final as a rematch with a clear purpose: Cuba needed to prove it could beat the opponent that had interrupted its perfect run.

Cuba avenges group-stage loss in tight, two-set final

The first set went down to the wire. Both teams fought for every run, and Cuba found the difference in the third inning, manufacturing the run that gave it a 2-1 set victory, VYX Deportes reported. In the second set, Cuba came out determined to close out the title, scoring five runs in the first inning and holding control en route to a 7-1 set win.

Chinese Taipei’s defense limited Cuba to just two runs across the entire final, but it was not enough. The WBSC celebrated the result on social media, saying that in a historic final, Cuba defeated Chinese Taipei to become the first Olympic youth champion of Baseball5 and that the team had earned a place in Olympic history “with passion and determination.”

Chinese Taipei took silver after defeating Mexico 2-1 in the other semifinal. Kenya, which fell to Cuba in the semifinals, won the bronze.

Jean Carlos Machado leads the attack; Jairon Medina scores first Olympic run in Baseball5 history

Jean Carlos Machado Casado was one of the tournament’s standout players, going 8-for-10 at the plate in the final. After the game, he said he was “very happy and proud to be one of the first Cuban gold medalists at the Youth Olympic Games.” He credited four months of demanding preparation, including daily training in very high temperatures in Cuba, and said the medal represents “a real sacrifice” for him, his family and the whole team, CiberCuba reported.

Another historic moment belonged to Cuba’s Jairon Medina, who scored the first run in Olympic Baseball5 history in the opening game against Türkiye on Oct. 30, a 2-0 Cuba win with set scores of 6-0 and 3-2.

Even the opposition acknowledged Cuba’s superiority. Chinese Taipei player Tzu-Yi Hsu attributed Cuba’s victory to “their consistency, their defense and their few errors.” Machado summed up the experience with a detail that went beyond the scoreboard: life in the Olympic Village, he said, was a beautiful experience, and the team learned to stay united through difficult moments.

Cuba’s road to gold: five wins, one loss

Cuba finished the tournament 5-1, with decisive responses in the two matches that decided medals. The path to the final:

The eight-team field also included Mexico and the WBSC Refugee Team, representing Syria. Cuba was coached by Sergio Arturo Pérez, VYX Deportes reported.

A title built on years of dominance in Baseball5

The Dakar gold was not an accident. Cuba arrived in Senegal as the world’s No. 1-ranked Baseball5 nation, backed by a dominant record: champion of the first senior Baseball5 World Cup in Mexico City in 2022, the first Youth World Cup in Ankara in 2023 and the second senior world title in Hong Kong in 2024, CiberCuba reported. The Cuban program also won the first two editions of the WBSC Youth Baseball5 World Cup — Ankara 2023 and Tepic 2025 — beating Chinese Taipei in the 2025 final for its second youth world championship, according to VYX Deportes.

With the Youth Olympic title, Cuba added the first Olympic gold in Baseball5 history to a resume that now spans world titles at both senior and youth levels and the inaugural Olympic crown in a sport making its Games debut in Africa.

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