Refugee Olympic Team gathers at Kaptagat, Kenya for Dakar 2026 YOG training camp; first refugee team at Youth Olympic Games

Refugee Olympic Team gathers at Kenyan training camp ahead of Dakar 2026

The six athletes who will represent the Refugee Olympic Team (EOR) at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) have gathered near Eldoret, Kenya, to ramp up preparations for their YOG debut.

The six athletes who will compete for the Refugee Olympic Team in Dakar have met for the first time for a training camp in Kaptagat, Kenya.

The athletes will compete in athletics, judo and taekwondo.

The refugee athletes had the chance to learn from Eliud Kipchoge, the Kenyan Olympic champion, who took them through a mentoring session.

The high-altitude training camp is the first time the refugee athletes have all met in one place. Besides conditioning training, the athletes have participated in team briefings, media training, and met one of their heroes, Eliud Kipchoge.

Above all, the camp has been an invaluable opportunity for the young athletes to get to know each other and build team cohesion – as the athletes are normally spread across Kenya and Uganda.

The area around Eldoret is a world-renowned training area, particularly for runners, due to its high-altitude, mild weather and extensive tracks.

800m runner Clement, 16, who was chosen by his teammates as team captain, said: “The training camp has given us a great experience, because we have been able to train together. If you practise alone, you don’t get experience, but when you have a partner they can push you, or if you have energy you can push your training partner. And the friendships we have built here are great, we love each other.”

While in Kaptagat, the athletes also had the opportunity to speak to and learn from two athletes who have experienced much of what they will experience in Dakar.

Their Chef de Mission, Yiech Pur Biel, who was a member of the first EOR at Rio 2016, was able to talk with the athletes and share his experiences with them.

The athletes also had the chance to learn from the very best. Kipchoge, the Official Refugee Team Mentor and Kenyan Olympic Champion, took the athletes through a mentoring session which reminded them of the importance of teamwork, what it takes to perform at the top level and how to take advantage of the opportunity to compete.

The Dakar 2026 Refugee Olympic Team

The first-ever EOR to compete at a Youth Olympic Games will comprise six athletes and have full gender parity. The athletes will compete in athletics, judo and taekwondo.

The members of the Dakar 2026 Refugee Olympic Team will be:

Arno, 15 (Host NOC: Kenya, Sport: Judo, -55kg men)

Clement, 16 (Host NOC: Kenya, Sport: Athletics, 800m men)

Florence, 16 (Host NOC: Uganda, Sport: Athletics, 200m women)

Lourance, 16 (Host NOC: Kenya, Sport: Taekwondo, -49kg women)

Nyataba, 17 (Host NOC: Kenya, Sport: Athletics, 800m women)

Rachid, 16 (Host NOC: Uganda, Sport: Athletics, 200m men)

The team represents a platform to elevate young refugee athletes, and highlight Africa’s role in addressing global displacement.

East and Southern Africa, where the athletes on the Dakar 2026 EOR are based, currently hosts 6.4 million refugees and asylum-seekers, with the largest proportion of them hosted across Uganda and Kenya. Of these 6.4 million, almost half (an estimated 48%) are children under the age of 18. In West and Central Africa, where the Youth Olympic Games will be hosted, there are 20.1 million forcibly displaced and stateless people.

The support for these athletes is a demonstration of the welcoming spirit which seeks to include refugees across society on the African continent, and particularly in Kenya and Uganda. Hosted by the National Olympic Committee of Kenya, the youth EOR project is the result of a strong collaboration between the Olympic Refuge Foundation (ORF), World Athletics, the National Olympic Committee of Uganda and Athletics Kenya. For the first time, athletes were selected from an ORF community programme, as two of the athletes were identified through the Game Connect programme. Support for the athletes has been made possible thanks to funding from the IOC’s Olympic Solidarity programme.

The Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games will take place from 31 October to 13 November.

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Key facts The six athletes who will compete for the Refugee Olympic Team in Dakar have met for the first time for a training camp in Kaptagat, Kenya. The athletes will compete in athletics, judo and taekwondo. The refugee athletes had the chance to learn from Eliud Kipchoge, the Kenyan Olympic champion, who took them through a mentoring session.

What I’m looking forward to in Dakar is winning a medal – not silver, or even bronze. I want gold. But you know, a medal comes with a price. After winning that medal, I want to build a home for orphans where children can stay safe, where athletes can get nutrition. My heart tells me to do that.

I reminded the athletes that, just by participating in Dakar 2026, whatever the outcome, you will be representing millions of refugees, and you will become a youth Olympian.

My advice to you all is first, to be disciplined. Being disciplined means knowing what you’re doing and having a goal and working towards your goal. Respect yourself first and then respect others. And lastly, remember that this world belongs to all of us.