Judoka and national flag-bearer Rosalvick Aguilar secured Venezuela’s first medal of the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026, winning the bronze in the 44-kilogram category at the Dakar Expo Centre in Senegal, Laiguana.tv reported. The athlete clinched the podium spot by defeating Theresa Tagarira of Botswana with a decisive ippon on the tatami.
Dakar Expo Centre Tatami Battle Secures Historic Podium
The victory arrived following a demanding tournament path for the 44-kilogram competitor from Carabobo State. Aguilar advanced through the elimination rounds before dropping a semifinal match that initially left her short of her gold-medal target. Reorganizing her approach for the third-place bout, she deployed a tactical strategy against Tagarira, deciding to leave behind what occurred and fight for the bronze with the exact same dedication she would have applied to a title final, noting that her ability to recover ended up being just as significant as her athletic performance.
“This last match I did it with intelligence, attacking more, trusting in myself, in my techniques and well as if it were a gold final,” Aguilar explained. Reflecting on the emotional shift from her semifinal defeat to the bronze-medal match, she added, I felt like crying. This was hard, I didn’t win the gold, but these are Olympic Games and they aren’t every day,
and further acknowledged, It wasn’t the medal I wanted, but a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
Venezuela’s Youth Olympic Delegation and Judo Legacy
Aguilar’s bronze medal inaugurates the medal count for the Venezuelan delegation in Senegal, which features 34 athletes competing across 15 sports disciplines, having arrived at the event following her gold-medal victory at the 2026 Youth South American Games. The achievement also marks the third individual judo medal in Venezuela’s history at the Youth Olympic Games. The nation’s history in the sport began at Nankín 2014, where Elvismar Rodríguez earned bronze in the 78-kilogram division, followed by María Giménez capturing gold in the 44-kilogram category at Buenos Aires 2018.
Following her victory, Aguilar contacted her family in Venezuela. “In my family everyone is happy and proud of me, I called my mom and she was very happy. I will never forget Dakar,” she stated.
Youth Olympic Games Schedule and Closing Timeline
The Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026 run through November 13. The multi-sport event gathers approximately 2,700 athletes aged 14 to 17 from various national Olympic committees, marking the first time the youth competition is hosted on the African continent.
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