Dakar 2026: Marie Sarr, 16, wins taekwondo gold for Senegal as South Africa match their best Youth Olympics

Dakar — Sixteen-year-old Marie Sarr won taekwondo gold for Senegal at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games on Tuesday, in front of a home crowd at the Iba Mar Diop complex.

Two rounds, two wins

Sarr beat Tunisia's Yasmine Haouani in the girls' under-55kg final, winning both rounds 8-4 and 11-3. She had reached the final by beating Karlee Vogel of the United States 2-0 in the semi-finals.

The title adds to a strong year: Sarr had already won silver at the German Open and bronze at the China Open in 2026. It is Senegal's fifth gold medal of the Games.

Earlier in the day Aïda Touré also reached the podium. She lost her under-63kg semi-final to Iran's Asal Goltapeh, narrowly dropping the first round 7-8 before losing the second 1-5, but took bronze after beating Peru's Ximena Zapata Pena 2-0 in the quarter-finals.

South Africa equal their record

South Africa have now won nine medals in Dakar, including two golds, matching their best-ever Youth Olympic haul from the first Games in Singapore in 2010. They won five in Buenos Aires in 2018 and one in Nanjing in 2014.

Matao le Roux won the boys' high jump on Monday by clearing 2.16m at his first attempt after struggling at lower heights. "On the fourth jump I decided enough was enough and I went to put the pressure on him," he said. The first South African gold went to rower Callum Dreyer, 16, the first men's solo champion in coastal beach sprints, a new Youth Olympic event.

John-Pierre Theron, a Grade 11 learner, took silver in the hammer throw with 71.79m. "This was my first time competing in an international event," he said. "It is a great sign of what can be achieved in the future."

The Games, the first Olympic event held in Africa, run until 13 November.

Source: wiwsport, wiwsport, Daily Maverick, November 2026.