JOJ Dakar-2026 : Entre quête de podiums et formation des élites, le pari de la délégation israélienne
With eleven athletes competing in eight disciplines, the Israeli delegation is displaying measured ambition at the Dakar Youth Olympic Games. Its president, Yaël Arad, is setting the course between the pursuit of medals and the development of a new generation of athletes.
Two to three medals. That's Israel's stated goal for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games. But behind this numerical ambition, Yaël Arad advocates an approach that goes beyond simply counting podium finishes. For the president of the Israeli Olympic Committee, these Games are first and foremost a step in building the international careers of young athletes.
The Israeli delegation comprises eleven athletes, both girls and boys, competing in eight disciplines, including boxing, judo, swimming, athletics, and gymnastics. With a contingent limited by participation quotas, the country intends to make the most of each athlete's presence on the competition field.
"The goal is to win between two and three medals if possible," said Yaël Arad. But the manager, a former Olympic judo silver medalist in Barcelona in 1992, refuses to reduce the success of this participation to immediate results.
In his view, international competitions allow young people to discover the pressure of high level, to measure their abilities and to develop their mental resilience.
Because, she reminds us, physical talent does not guarantee a medal. An inexperienced athlete can be destabilized by the pressure, while another, less expected to win, can benefit from their composure and emotional control.
The challenge, therefore, is to gradually build athletes capable of progressing through the different levels of international sport.
A philosophy that places learning on the same level as performance. For Israel, Dakar must therefore serve as a testing ground for a generation destined to carry the country's Olympic ambitions in the years to come.
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