Six Refugee Athletes Ready for Historic Youth Olympic Debut in Dakar

 By Wasike Elvis 

Six young refugee athletes are preparing to make history at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, where they will compete for the first time as part of a refugee team at the continental Olympic event.

The Games, scheduled for October 31 to November 13, 2026, will mark the first time the Youth Olympic Games are hosted on African soil, giving the refugee athletes an opportunity to compete on a major international stage while highlighting the potential and resilience of young people affected by displacement.

The six-member refugee squad comprises Rashid Rechene, Florence Masimbi, Clement Niyomuhoza, Nyataba Kuek, Lourance Namukiza and Arno Yfunga, who have been undergoing intensive preparations at Complete Sports in Kaptagat, Uasin Gishu County.

The athletes, selected from Kenya and Uganda, are competing in athletics, judo and taekwondo and say their weeks of training have helped them improve both physically and mentally as they prepare for their first Olympic experience.

The training camp has also provided the athletes with an opportunity to build friendships and strengthen team cohesion as they prepare to compete against athletes representing their respective countries.

For the young athletes, the Dakar Games represent more than a sporting competition. They offer a chance to demonstrate that displacement does not have to prevent young people from pursuing their ambitions and competing at the highest level.

Double Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge, who serves as a World Athletics Refugee Athletes mentor, has been among those supporting the initiative.

Kipchoge has emphasised the importance of supporting refugees and giving them opportunities to develop their talents and pursue their dreams, particularly through sport.

The team's preparations come at a time when forced displacement remains a major global challenge. According to UNHCR estimates cited by organisers, more than 117 million people worldwide are forcibly displaced, with children and young people making up a significant proportion of the affected population.

In East and Southern Africa alone, there are about 6.4 million refugees and asylum seekers, nearly half of whom are children.

Against this backdrop, the refugee team heading to Dakar is expected to serve as a symbol of hope and opportunity for young refugees across the continent.

The initiative has brought together the International Olympic Committee and Olympic Refuge Foundation, with support from the National Olympic Committees of Kenya and Uganda, World Athletics, UNHCR, Athletics Kenya and the national judo and taekwondo federations.

The National Olympic Committee of Kenya has also played a key role in supporting the athletes as they prepare for the historic competition.

Barnaba Korir, First Deputy President of the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK), said the athletes had been given an important platform to demonstrate their ability and compete alongside some of the best young athletes in the world.

“Kenya has given them a chance to compete in school games and Athletics Kenya events. We want to show the world that they are able to compete at the global stage and see what Kenyans have done,” Korir said.

He said integrating refugee athletes into local sporting competitions was important in identifying and nurturing talent while giving them the experience needed to compete internationally.

The refugee team's Chef de Mission, Yiech Pur Biel, said hosting the Youth Olympic Games in Africa would make the Dakar experience particularly significant for refugees.

“Dakar will mean a lot for Africa and refugees. It means a lot to us because Africa hosts the largest number of refugees. They are creating chances for talents in Africa and the globe,” Biel said.

For the athletes, the opportunity is also about proving themselves after overcoming circumstances that could easily have derailed their sporting ambitions.

Rechene, a 16-year-old 200-metre sprinter from Congo who sought refuge in Uganda, said his time at the Kaptagat training camp had already produced significant improvements in his performance.

“Dakar 2026 is a great chance for us as refugee youth. The training is good and we like the facility. I have made progress in my speed and time. I now know my potential and I’m sprinting better and faster,” he said.

His teammate Florence Masimbi, also 16, said the encouragement from coaches and mentors had given the young athletes additional motivation as they approach the Games.

Masimbi said the team was determined to make the most of the opportunity and use the experience to inspire other young refugees with sporting ambitions.

In athletics, Nyataba Kuek, 17, and Clement Niyomuhoza, 16, will compete in the 800 metres, with both hoping to make their mark in Dakar and become part of the history of the refugee team.

Their participation will provide an opportunity to showcase the endurance and middle-distance talent that has made the region a major force in global athletics.

Meanwhile, Arno Yfunga will compete in judo, while Lourance Namukiza will represent the refugee team in taekwondo.

Although they will not wear the colours of individual nations, the athletes will enter the competition carrying the hopes of millions of displaced young people around the world.

Their participation is also expected to strengthen efforts to ensure refugees are not excluded from sporting structures in host countries.

World Athletics representative Alice Annibali said the organisation was working with Athletics Kenya to create more opportunities for refugees to participate in local competitions, including cross-country events.

She said the initiative was also focused on strengthening safeguarding measures to ensure young refugee athletes have safe and supportive environments in which to train and compete.

The programme is therefore expected to have an impact beyond Dakar, with organisers seeking to establish stronger pathways for refugee athletes to participate in organised sport and access opportunities for development.

For the six athletes preparing in Kaptagat, however, the immediate focus remains on training, improving their performances and arriving in Dakar ready to compete.

Their journey from displacement to an Olympic stage has already become a story of determination and resilience.

When the Youth Olympic Games open in Dakar on October 31, Rechene, Masimbi, Kuek, Niyomuhoza, Namukiza and Yfunga will not only be competing for medals. They will also be representing a generation of refugee youth determined to demonstrate that talent can survive even in the most difficult circumstances.