While Los Angeles prepares for 2028, history is arriving much sooner in West Africa. From October 31 to November 13, 2026, Senegal will host the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG)—officially marking the first-ever Olympic sporting event held on the African continent [2].
This week, the countdown to the historic event crossed a major visual milestone with the unveiling of the official Dakar 2026 medals.
The official Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games medals
The winning obverse design, titled “The Roar of Youth,” was created by 26-year-old Spanish designer Pilar Barbadillo Vicario, who won a global design competition that fielded entries from over 100 countries [2].
The medals are a breathtaking fusion of Olympic tradition and deep Senegalese cultural heritage under the theme From History to the Future:
- The Obverse (The Lion): The front of the medal features a lion, a powerful national symbol of Senegal representing strength and courage. Ingeniously, the lion’s mane is formed by two symmetrical faces inspired by traditional Senegalese craftsmanship. Each face wears an olive wreath, tying the African aesthetic back to the ancient origins of the Olympic pursuit of excellence [2].
- The Reverse (The Baobab Tree): The back of the medal, designed by the Dakar 2026 Organising Committee and Senegal’s National School of Arts, features the iconic baobab tree. An emblem of the “Land of Teranga,” the tree symbolizes longevity, wisdom, and the passing of knowledge between generations [3].
When the Games kick off next month, roughly 2,700 young athletes (aged 15 to 17) from across the globe will compete for these historic medals. The event will also serve as a vital testing ground for new sports, including the highly anticipated Youth Olympic debut of Baseball5 [3].