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The next Youth Olympic Games (YOG), a sporting event reserved for athletes aged 15 to 18, will take place in 2026 rather than 2022, announced the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Senegal. The IOC invokes in particular the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics to 2021 and “the operational and financial consequences of the global health crisis” to justify the delay in the first Games organized on the African continent.
Africa will finally have to wait until 2026 to host the first Olympic Games in its history. These are certainly the 2022 Youth Olympic Games (YOG), an event reserved for athletes aged 15 to 18. But this joint announcement from Senegal, host country of the next YOG, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), created a surprise on July 15, 2020.
« The IOC and Senegal are aware that for many young athletes, this news will be disappointing, says a press release. We can only appeal to their understanding. This agreement reflects the scale of the operational challenges facing the IOC, National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and international federations (IFs) following the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games ».
The postponement of the Tokyo Games by one year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, is one of the main causes invoked by the two parties to justify that of the next YOG, scheduled from October 22 to November 9, 2022. ” The postponement of Dakar 2022 allows the IOC, the NOCs and the IFs to better plan their activities, strongly affected by the postponement of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the subsequent postponements of major international sports competitions as well as the operational and financial consequences of the crisis. global health “, Continues the press release.
Leave more time in Senegal
The text insists on the role of Senegal in this decision. ” President Macky Sall’s proposal was indeed welcomed by Thomas Bach, IOC President, after in-depth discussions on the subject ”, We assure from the side of the body based in Switzerland.
This postponement would even offer more time in Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly, the three cities supposed to host this event, which takes place every four years and which brings together nearly 4,000 athletes from around thirty disciplines. ” It allows Senegal to continue the excellent preparations for the Youth Olympic Games “Said the statement.
Thomas Bach concludes: ” I am sure that together we will organize brilliant Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games for Senegal, the entire African continent and all the young athletes in the world. »
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