International athletes and stars who made their name at the Youth Olympic Games

The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) are underway in Dakar until 13 November. The first three editions (Singapore 2010, Nanjing 2014 and Buenos Aires 2018) served as a springboard for several champions who made their mark at the Olympic Games between 2012 and 2024. Here are 10 of the biggest names. Issued on: 08/11/2026 - 18:04 4 min Reading time Julien Alfred (athletics) At the 2024 Olympics in Paris, the Saint Lucian sprinter Julien Alfred swept through the field to beat the favourites, including Sha'Carri Richardson from the United States. As a 17-year-old, Alfred won silver at the 2018 YOG in Buenos Aires. Six years later in the French capital, she took gold in the 100m and silver in the 200m. Wang Chuqin (table tennis) Wang Chuqin is the nightmare of French brothers Alexis and Félix Lebrun. The Chinese player has beaten older brother Alexis twice and younger brother Félix 10 times. The current world number one highlighted his talent at the YOG in Buenos Aires, where he won two gold medals. Six years later, although he suffered a shock early exit in the singles, losing in the last 32 in Paris, he won gold in the mixed doubles and ended the year as the world's top-ranked player. Chad le Clos (swimming) The South African swimmer began making waves by winning five medals at the YOG in Singapore in 2010. He took gold in the 200m individual medley, silvers in the 100 and 200m butterfly. Chad le Clos (left) beat Michael Phelps (right) to win the gold medal in the 200m butterfly at the London Olympics. Phelps won gold in the 100m while Le Clos took the silver. AP - Jae C. Hong There was sliver too in the 400m freestyle and a bronze in the 4x100m freestyle relay. In 2012 at the London Olympics, competing in his first Olympic Games, the 20-year-old beat his idol Michael Phelps in the 200m butterfly. He added two silver medals to his collection at the 2016 Rio Games. Jessica Fox (canoe and kayak) Did her gold medal in Singapore in 2010, at the age of 16, foreshadow the medal haul that was to follow in four Olympic Games between 2012 and 2024? Raised in the western suburbs of Sydney, Australia, by parents who were both kayakers, Fox won her first Olympic medal at the 2012 London Games where she claimed silver in the women's K1 (kayak singles) canoe slalom. Jessica Fox from Australia has won six medals, including three golds in the kayak and canoeing events, in the four Olympic Games between 2012 and 2024. AP - Kirsty Wigglesworth Aged 22 at the Olympics in 2016 in Rio, she took bronze in the same event and there was another bronze in the K1 in Tokyo along with gold in the women's C1 canoe singles. In Paris in 2024, the 30-year-old won gold in the K1 and C1 to take her Olympic medal tally up to six. Emma McKeon (swimming) Australia's most decorated Olympian with 14 medals at the Olympic Games in 2016, 2020 and 2024, the swimmer ranks among the 40 most decorated athletes in Olympic history. She shone at the Youth Olympic Games in 2010 in Singapore, winning six medals, including one gold. She confirmed her talent at her first Olympics in Rio in 2016, taking four medals in the freestyle events. In Tokyo, where she won four golds, she made history as the first female swimmer to win seven medals at a single Olympic Games. In Paris in 2024, a gold, silver and bronze, were added to the haul before she announced her retirement from competitive swimming at the age of 30. Noah Lyles (athletics) The American sprinter announced himself at the 2014 YOF in Nanjing, winning the 200m. At his first Olympics in 2020 in Tokyo, he took bronze in the 200m. In Paris, he beat Jamaica's Kishane Thompson by five-thousandths of a second to win gold in the 100m. However, he was unable to join the likes of Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis and Usain Bolt with the 100 and 200m Olympic sprint double. Lyles came third in the 200m. Panipak Wongpattanakit (taekwondo) Thailand's first Olympic taekwondo champion, Panipak Wongpattanakit made her mark at the 2014 YOG in Nanjing with gold in the girls 44kg event. She took bronze in the women's -49kg flyweight in Rio in 2016. Golds in the same weight category followed in Tokyo and in Paris in 2024. Ulugbek Rashitov (taekwondo) He accounts for two of Uzbekistan's 10 gold medals in Olympic history. After a silver medal in the boys' 48kg taekwondo at the 2018 YOG in Buenos Aires, he produced a remarkable performance at the Tokyo Olympics at the age of 19. Having come through the preliminary qualifying round, he won gold in the men's 68kg category by defeating South Korean legend Lee Dae-hoon. Rashitov defended his title in Paris in 2024. Sara Samir (weightlifting) Sara Samir made history by becoming the first Egyptian woman — and the first Arab woman — to win an Olympic medal when she claimed bronze in the 69kg category at the 2016 Rio Games. Before Brazil came China, where she took gold at the 2014 YOG in Nanjing. In Paris in 2024, she added silver in the 81kg event. Iga Swiatek (tennis) In 2018, the Polish tennis player warmed up for the YOG in Buenos Aires by winning the girls' singles title at Wimbledon in south-west London. In Argentina, Swiatek won the girls' doubles title. Since then, she has won the women's singles crown at Wimbledon. There have been four titles on the clay courts at the French Open as well as one trophy from the US Open in New York. Swiatek has amassed 20 other titles and spent 125 weeks as world number one in teh WTA rankings This article was adapted from the original version in French by RFI's Ndiasse Sambe.