28 Team Canada athletes to compete at the Dakar 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games
TORONTO (October 21, 2026) – On Wednesday, 10 days out from the Opening Ceremony of the Dakar 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG), the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) announced Team Canada’s Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Team of 28 athletes competing in 10 sports.
Dakar 2026, the fourth edition of the Summer Youth Olympic Games, will officially open on Saturday, October 31 and run through to the Closing Ceremony on Friday, November 13. The Youth Olympic Games are a global multi-sport event that invites elite young athletes aged 14-18 to compete. This year’s edition will feature a fully gender-balanced sporting programme, with more than 2700 athletes competing in 25 sports and 10 engagement sports. Dakar 2026 will be the first YOG to feature a Youth Refugee Olympic Team and the first Olympic sporting event to take place in Africa.
The full list of Team Canada athletes, coaches, and support staff (including their sport and hometown) can be downloaded here. Further information on Team Canada’s Dakar 2026 athletes can be found here.
More than medals or records, the aim of the Youth Olympic Games is to provide young athletes with an enriching experience that introduces them to the concept of an international major Games. A core component of the YOG is the Athlete Education Programme, which is intended to maximize the learning experience of all athletes. At the YOG, young athletes will learn about safety and well-being in sport, preventing competition manipulation, staying mentally fit, and anti-doping.
On site in Dakar to support the young athletes will be eight IOC Young Leaders, including three-time Olympian in artistic swimming and COC Athletes’ Commission member, Jacqueline Simoneau. Simoneau, along with other IOC Young Leaders from across the world, will be based inside Athlete365 House in the Youth Olympic Village to help introduce the athletes to the ideas behind the IOC’s Olympism365 strategy, showing how sport can shape lives far beyond the field of play.
“Dakar 2026 is an excellent opportunity for developing young athletes to gain valuable experience at a multi-sport Games, while being exposed to the educational opportunities and the values of the Olympic Movement,” said Eric Myles, Chief Sport Officer of the Canadian Olympic Committee. “We are confident in the benefits the Youth Olympic Games can bring, including seeing Team Canada athletes who have used their YOG experience as a step in their journey, going on to compete at the Pan American Games and the Olympic Games.”
Team Canada athletes have won 31 medals over the past three editions of the Summer Youth Olympic Games: 12 at Singapore 2010, the inaugural Youth Olympic Games; eight at Nanjing 2014; and 11 at Buenos Aires 2018. Dakar was slated to host the 2022 edition of the Summer Youth Olympic Games, but due to the pandemic, it was postponed until 2026. To date, 29 Canadians who competed at previous Summer Youth Olympic Games have gone on to become Olympians. For Dakar 2026 press resources, click here.
HOW TO WATCH:
As the official Dakar 2026 broadcaster in Canada, CBC will provide coverage of the Games on cbc.ca/sports, radio-canada.ca/sports and the CBC Gem app. CBC’s Dakar 2026 streaming schedule can be accessed here.
Olympics.com and the Olympics app will also have live-streamed coverage of Dakar 2026.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Tara MacBournie
Associate Manager, Sport Communications
C: 647-522-8328
E: tmacbournie@olympic.ca