Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games: Japan continues its dominance, one discipline has two winners, a Senegalese woman shines…, the day's highlights

Thursday at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) was marked by strong performances in swimming, a bronze medal for a Senegalese equestrian, and the elimination of the Lionesses in women's futsal. In the overall medal standings, Japan maintains its first-place position ahead of China.

Swimming: Japan's Mana Ishikawa wins her fourth title

The young Japanese swimmer Mana Ishikawa   continues to impress in the pools of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games. On Thursday, she won her fourth gold medal, this time in the 50-meter breaststroke, thus confirming her immense potential and her status as an athlete to watch on the international scene.

Her performance at these Games is simply remarkable. She won the 50m breaststroke, 100m breaststroke, and 200m breaststroke, before also taking gold in the 200m individual medley. An exceptional achievement that illustrates her versatility, technical mastery, and consistency at the highest level.

Another highlight of the day in the pools was a double gold medal in the men's 50-meter backstroke. Greek swimmer Nikolaos Papatheodorou and Portuguese swimmer Miguel Reis Oliveira clocked exactly the same time of 25.69 seconds. The two swimmers thus shared the top step of the podium in a particularly hard-fought final.

Equestrian: Senegalese rider Eden Kazoum wins a medal with Team Africa

Senegal also made headlines in equestrian sports. Young Senegalese rider Eden Kazoum won a bronze medal with Team Africa on Thursday, following the team show jumping competition held at the Diamniadio equestrian center.

Another source of satisfaction for the Senegalese delegation, which continues its quest for medals in front of its home crowd.

Futsal: End of the road for the Lionesses

However, the day was less happy for the Senegalese women's futsal team. The Lionesses saw their adventure come to an end after a heavy defeat against Ukraine (7-2) on Thursday, during the third matchday of the group stage in Group A.

Despite their commitment, the Senegalese women were unable to reverse the trend against a more efficient Ukrainian team.

Medal table: Japan still in the lead

At the end of Thursday, the provisional tally for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games shows 165 medals distributed, including 53 gold.

Japan remains at the top of the medal table with 14 medals, including 8 gold. China is in second place with 12 medals, including 7 gold.

The competition continues with new challenges and new opportunities for the different delegations to make their colours shine.