Japan, Russia set early pace as Uganda chases first medal at Youth Olympic Games

The race for medals at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games is beginning to take shape, but while Japan and the Russian National Olympic Committees enjoy an early share of the lead, Uganda is still searching for its first podium finish as its young athletes continue their campaigns in Senegal.

With the Games having started on October 31 and running until November 13, 17 of the 151 medal events had been completed by Tuesday, November 3, with 57 medals already distributed across the competing nations.

Japan and the Russian NOCs are jointly leading the medal standings with two gold medals each, although both have collected four medals overall. China follows in third position with one gold and two silver medals, while Croatia and New Zealand are tied in fourth with one gold, one silver and two medals apiece.

Argentina sits sixth with one gold and two bronze medals, while Egypt and France share seventh position, each having collected one gold and one bronze.

Africa’s early challenge is being led by Egypt and South Africa. South Africa occupies 16th position with three medals, comprising two silver and one bronze. Host nation Senegal has also opened its account with a bronze medal, giving the home crowd something to celebrate.

China claimed gold in the coastal beach sprints mixed double sculls through Liu Lili and Su Juntao, while Austria’s Alena Lux and Lukas Schoenhuber took silver.

Swimming has also produced some memorable moments, with Ecuador’s Elvira Espinosa and France’s Ana Bobanović among the gold medallists in the 100m freestyle.

Slovenia’s Maks Cebulj struck gold in the men’s -81kg judo category, while France celebrated victory in the women’s rugby sevens tournament to add another gold medal to its growing collection.

For Team Uganda, however, the hunt for a first medal continues. Uganda is yet to get onto the medal table, but the campaign is far from over, with more athletes taking to competition. 

Though Uganda is already in contention in Rugby and Table Tennis, the country is holding out hope in the upcoming events, especially the track events. Uganda is also hoping to turn their performances into podium finishes on Tuesday, November 3.

Swimming will provide two opportunities for Uganda, with Arthur Mwase scheduled to compete in the men’s 400m freestyle. He is listed in Heat 1, Lane 5 at 1:00 pm.

Peyton Suubi will follow in the women’s 100m breaststroke, competing in Heat 2, Lane 7 at 1:58 p.m. Uganda will also have representation in coastal beach sprints, where Marcel Otim is scheduled to compete in the mixed relays at 4:40 p.m.

In badminton, Bukenya Ramiah faces Poperezhai in a match scheduled for not before 3:00 p.m., providing another opportunity for Uganda to push its campaign forward.

Uganda will be hoping that Tuesday’s action brings a breakthrough and its first medal of the Dakar 2026 edition.

There are still 134 medal events remaining, leaving plenty of room for movement in the standings as the competition heads towards its November 13 conclusion.

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