Kenyan teens brave Dakar heat to storm Youth Olympics podium
Sports
By
Elizabeth Mburugu
| Nov 10, 2026
Women’s 2000m steeplechase champion Abigael Kosgei posses for a photo with former NOC-K president Paul Tergat after the award ceremony. [Courtesy]
Under the gruelling heat of the Senegalese sun, two of Kenya’s promising young track stars turned the Complex Iba Mar Diop Stadium into a proving ground of pure grit.
Abigael Kosgei and Enock Tuitoek braved the harsh conditions to deliver back-to-back gold medals on a sensational Sunday afternoon at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics.
Sixteen-year-old Kosgei asserted Kenya’s athletics dominance, outclassing her opponents to cruise to victory in the women’s 2000m steeplechase with a personal best of 6:30.24. Kosgei’s race was far from easy under the Dakar heat as she survived a chilling stumble at the water barrier in her third lap.
With her eyes laser-focused on the ultimate prize, she picked herself up smoothly, regaining her pace before unleashing a gold-winning kick with about 80m to the finish line.
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Her spectacular show saw her drop her Ethiopian rival Abera Mekonen, who settled for silver in a time of 6:32.15 and Turkey’s Celik Elif, who bagged bronze in 6:36.99.
A delighted Kosgei dedicated her victory to the nation, saying that despite the difficulties in the race, she put her country first and was determined to win. “I am so happy for this win; the race was tough because of the weather since it is very hot here. But I was determined to get this medal, and I dedicate it to myself and to all Kenyans,” Kosgei said.
Moments later, 17-year-old Tuitoek sealed the golden double after tearing apart his challengers to win the men’s 3000m race.
Tuitoek was ruthless from gun to tape, dictating the pace and controlling the race to string out a dense field. Employing tactics honed after his victory at the 2026 ANOCA Zone Five Youth Games staged in Nairobi in August, Tuitoek tactically eased off the accelerator to manage the pack before exploding in the final strides to cross the line and seal the coveted gold.
He stormed to victory in a time of 8:07.69 ahead of Ethiopia’s Goyton Mekonen, who clocked 8:08.24 to take silver, with France’s Benhammou Meziane completing the podium in 8:11.59.
Elated to have achieved his objective, Tuitoek revealed that going against a strong field he had to be very tactical to win the race.
“I feel good winning a medal because this is what brought us here. The competition was tough, and I had to change tactics by reducing the pace to manage the leading pack,” said Tuitoek.
“My competitors were all over me and for sure I had to be brave for me to win. I kicked just a few metres before the finish line.”
The budding star intimated that he was looking to transition to senior competitions with focus on representing Kenya at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. “Winning ANOCA Youth Games encouraged me that it was possible to win in Dakar. Now I hope to train hard, and my focus will be getting a ticket to represent Kenya at the LA 2028 Olympics,” he added.
Following Rising Lionesses ' historic rugby Sevens gold, Kenya is now the third-best-ranked nation behind Egypt and hosts Senegal. The Kenyans were hoping to secure more athletics gold last evening.
Meanwhile, Kenya’s hopes in basketball 3x3 were crushed after the Young Lionesses suffered a narrow 13-14 defeat to Egypt in the quarter-finals.
A lapse in concentration and foul trouble proved costly as the Egyptians rallied from five points down to oust Kenyans from the medal race.