Madagascar’s women’s rugby sevens team captured the bronze medal at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games on Tuesday, defeating the Czech Republic 26-10 in the third-place match, RFI reported. The victory marks only the second medal in the island nation’s Youth Olympic history and its first in rugby sevens.
The Malagasy side, nicknamed the McKinladies, capped a run through the tournament that included wins over the United States and Spain before falling short against the Czechs in a final pool match earlier in the day. Captain Zora Kutunin Djiné said the four months of preparation made the moment worthwhile. “We worked for four months, it wasn’t easy,” she said. “A lot of people want to come here, but we’re the ones who participated. We’re very lucky.”
A Medal Built on Limited Resources
The bronze is Madagascar’s second Youth Olympic medal overall, following the silver won by judoka Mireille Andriamifehy at the 2018 Buenos Aires Games. What makes the rugby achievement stand out, according to the team’s coaching staff, is the modest infrastructure behind it. Head coach Dine Razafin Djassar said the players trained between Antananarivo and Tunis and that the work demanded real sacrifices. “It was a lot of effort and a lot of sacrifice, especially for the girls, to train, because you need the physical side,” she said. “It’s for the girls’ safety, taking a lot of time to do the training.”
Supporters from Madagascar filled the stands in Dakar and made themselves heard throughout the tournament. Teammate Nazar described the players as coming from the lower neighborhoods of Madagascar and said their run — beating the United States, Spain and the Czech Republic — carries a message beyond sport. “Even with a lot of will, you can succeed very high,” she said. “It’s really a message of hope for all the young people of Africa and Madagascar.”
26-10 Win Over Czech Republic Seals Third Place
The third-place match was a rematch of sorts: the Czechs had also faced Madagascar in a final pool game that morning, and they could not stop the Malagasy side a second time. The 26-10 scoreline gave Madagascar its place on the podium and sent the team off with a celebration on the pitch at the final whistle.
The result also extends a strong stretch for rugby on the island. Madagascar’s senior men’s team finished as runners-up at the Africa Cup in October, and the women’s youth success in Dakar suggests the country’s sevens program is producing results across age groups despite limited preparation resources.
What the Medal Means for Madagascar at the Youth Olympics
For a nation of roughly 30 million people where elite sport funding is scarce, a Youth Olympic medal carries outsized weight. The 2018 silver from Andriamifehy had stood alone for eight years; the bronze in Dakar shows the pipeline is not a one-off. Officials and coaches pointed to the victories over established rugby nations as proof that Malagasy athletes can compete at the highest youth level when given the opportunity to participate.
The team’s path — training camps split between Antananarivo and Tunis, long hours of physical conditioning, and backing from supporters watching from the stands — is the story the players themselves want told. As Kutunin Djiné put it, many athletes aspire to reach the Youth Olympics; this group is the one that made it.
