Preview: Youth Olympic Games return after an eight-year absence

If you ask any aspiring young archer on a shooting line what the one thing they are aiming for in their career is, you would probably find that, for most of them, it would be to shoot at an Olympic Games.

What adds the glamour to the biggest event in the sporting calendar is its rarity – held only once every four years – making its size and time so difficult to prepare for.

But what is one thing that can give those young archers a chance to get a slight feel of the Olympic Games?

That’s right... the Youth Olympic Games.

While it may not be on the same scale as the senior Olympic Games, Dakar 2026 will still give that big-event feel to the 64 archers heading to the Senegalese capital, with 2700 athletes competing in 25 sports, including archery.

Dakar is the fourth edition of the Youth Olympic Games, following Singapore 2010, Nanjing 2014 and Buenos Aires 2018. The event was originally scheduled to take place in 2022 but was postponed to this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unlike the (senior) LA28 Olympic Games, where compound archery is set to make its Olympic debut, Dakar will feature only recurve competition at Abdoulaye Wade Stadium, with under-18 men’s and women’s individual events, as well as a mixed team competition.

There is no other team event, as nations could be awarded a maximum of two quota places. The 64 athlete quota places were awarded through an open ranking system, with archers required to achieve a minimum qualification score.

Key information

What’s happening?  The fourth edition of the Youth Olympic Games, held in Dakar, Senegal, with archery taking place from 6-10 November at Abdoulaye Wade Stadium.

What’s at stake? The chance for the best young archers to get an Olympic medal and announce themselves to the world.

Who’s competing? A total of 64 archers representing 39 countries.

What’s the story? Marcus D’Almeida, Lee Woo Seok and Li Jiaman are just three archers who won medals at the Youth Olympic Games – all at Nanjing 2014 – and have gone on to represent their respective countries at major international events for a number of years, as well as win major senior competitions. Dakar 2026 offers a new generation of archers the opportunity to emerge and lay down a marker, just as these three did 12 years ago. Given it is also the first time a multisport Olympic event of any kind has been held in Africa, could one of these rising stars come from the continent itself?

Schedule

• Friday 6 November: Qualifying 
• Saturday 7 November: Eliminations
• Sunday 8 November: Men’s finals
• Monday 9 November: Women’s finals
• Tuesday 10 November: Mixed team finals

How to watch

Watch live footage of the archery competition, including eliminations on Saturday 7 November and finals on Sunday 8, Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 November, with coverage produced by Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS).

Live scores will be available throughout the week on the World Archery website, along with coverage across World Archery’s digital platforms. 

Who’s competing?

These are the top-ranked archers competing in Dakar:

• Recurve men: Samo Vrbec, Slovenia (world rank: 81)
• Recurve women: Dunya Yenihayat, Türkiye (world rank: 34)

Competition at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games begins with qualifying on Thursday.