Eight young sports stars from Pretoria will participate in the 2026 Youth Olympics
The historic 4th Summer Youth Olympics kick off this coming weekend in Dakar, Senegal, and eight young sports stars from Pretoria will be part of the national team representing South Africa at this spectacular event.
Three track and field athletes, a fencer, a rugby sevens player, and three swimmers from Pretoria are all part of the South African team that will participate in the 4th Summer Youth Olympics in Dakar, Senegal, starting this coming weekend.
The Games will be held from 31 October to 13 November.
The Youth Olympics are back after an eight-year hiatus due to the knock-on effects of Covid-19. The 2018 Games were staged in Buenos Aires, but Dakar becomes the first African city to host any Olympics or Paralympic Games.
Team SA will be represented by 46 athletes across 15 different codes in Dakar.
During the recent announcement of the South African team, the acting president of SASCOC, Ms Lwandile Simelane, noted the significance of the Games.
Photo: Supplied
“It’s truly a historical moment in sport. The first Youth Olympics in Africa. In fact, the first International Olympic Committee event ever staged on the continent. This has to be celebrated. It’s huge for Africa and Team SA is committed to playing a full part in the overall success of the event. Our young athletes will go there as proud representatives of their country, and their continent. We wish them, as well as the organisers of the Youth Olympics, every success,” she remarked.
The eight sports stars from Pretoria who will have the opportunity to participate in this historic spectacle are track and field athletes Janelle Kirkpatrick, Megan Nieman, and Shiloh Snijders (all from Die Hoërskool Menlopark); fencer Nikita Venturas from Tuks Fencing; rugby sevens player Dandré Brink from Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool Pretoria (Affies); and swimmers Matthew Goller, Chanel Veldsman, and Leah Markgraaff (all from TuksSwimming).
In the three completed Summer Youth Olympics to date, Team SA has won 15 medals, of which six have been gold. Team SA has brought home a gold medal at each of the three previous Games, occupying 39th position on the all-time medals table.
The most famous products from the Youth Olympics onto the senior international stage are swimmers Chad le Clos (2010) and Michael Houlie (2014), who both won gold at the respective Games, and went onto international stardom. Both are still competing and earned medals for Team SA at the recent 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
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