The 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games concluded on November 13 in Diamniadio, Senegal, marking the end of the first Olympic event ever hosted on the African continent.
The closing ceremony at the Youth Olympic Village brought together athletes and delegations from around the world to mark the end of the competition, which ran from October 31 through November 13.
Vietnam finished the games with two silver medals, placing 65th in the overall standings among the 99 delegations that secured medals. While the team did not earn gold or bronze, the two silver medals represented a significant achievement for the 18-member delegation, which competed across seven sports including swimming, badminton, athletics, cycling, taekwondo, wushu, and beach wrestling.
The first silver medal for Vietnam came on November 3 in the men’s Taijiquan Taolu wushu event. Nguyen Khac Le Hoang earned a total score of 18.692, finishing just 0.028 points behind the champion, Poon Ho-yan of Hong Kong, China. This result marked Vietnam’s first medal of the games and served as an indicator of the competitive level of Vietnam’s younger martial artists in international arenas.
Four days after the wushu success, swimmer Duong Van Hoang Quy secured the country’s second silver medal in the men’s 200m butterfly. The 2009-born athlete finished with a time of 2:00.32, trailing only Egypt’s Zaine Ali, who won with a time of 1:57.88.
Hoang Quy’s performance was notable for his improvement, as he cut 5.29 seconds off his qualifying time to claim Vietnam’s first-ever swimming medal at the Youth Olympic Games.
Beyond the two medalists, other members of the Vietnamese delegation gained experience across various disciplines. Dong Thi Huong reached the women’s 400m semifinals, recording a personal best time of 58.40 seconds.
Other athletes, including Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen in badminton, Nguyen Thuy Hien in swimming, Nguyen Truong Nhat Huy in taekwondo, and cyclist Nguyen Khang Ha My, participated in their respective events alongside the beach wrestling trio of Lo Thi Hong, Ha Ly Quy Bao, and Pham Van Duong.
During the closing ceremony, Nguyen Truong Nhat Huy and Dong Thi Huong had the honor of carrying the Vietnamese flag, signifying the official conclusion of the team’s participation. The event was attended by International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry and Dakar 2026 Organizing Committee President Mamadou Diagna Ndiaye.
China led the medal count with 18 gold medals, followed by Japan with 11 and Russia with 8. Host nation Senegal achieved a historic performance, securing five gold medals, including a victory in beach wrestling. The games featured approximately 2,700 athletes from around the world competing for 153 medals across 25 sports in the cities of Dakar, Diamniadio, and Saly.
While the Vietnamese team did not reach the top of the podium, the two silver medals highlight the progress of their youth training programs. The results show that the country must continue systematic investment to maintain international competitiveness for the next generation of athletes.
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