With athletics set to begin at the Youth Olympics in Dakar, the first IOC event ever held on the African continent, we looked back at past results. Many of today’s biggest athletics stars once competed at this championship, first held in Singapore 16 years ago.
By AthleticsPodium (editorial)
The Youth Olympic Games represent the first major international experience for athletes under the age of 18. With their extensive fields of competitors, the Games offer a glimpse into the future of world athletics. After the World U18 Championships were discontinued in 2017, the Youth Olympics became the only global gathering at this age level. We have selected several athletes who succeeded at the event before becoming stars on the world stage.
Salwa Eid Nasser (2014, 400m silver medallist)
Bahrain’s star athlete competed at the Nanjing 2014 Games at 16, finishing second in the 400m with a time of 52.74, behind Australia’s Jessica Thornton. One year later, Salwa became the World U18 champion, and three years after that she claimed silver at the senior World Championships. She dominated the 2018 Asian Games before reaching the pinnacle of her career in Doha in 2019, where she won gold with an astonishing time of 48.14, then the third-fastest performance in history.
Nasser missed the Tokyo Olympics after receiving a ban for missed tests. However, she continued to add to her achievements, winning two titles at the Asian Games at the end of 2023 and securing a silver medal at Paris 2024.
Yomif Kejelcha (2014, 3000m champion)
By the time the Ethiopian distance runner arrived at Nanjing 2014, he was already a world champion at both U18 and U20 levels. At the second edition of the Youth Olympic Games, he proved untouchable.
Kejelcha won the 3000m by 10 seconds, clocking 7:56.20, although he had run an even faster 7:36.28 earlier that season. He began competing at senior level in 2016.
Despite producing impressive times throughout his career, Kejelcha struggled to translate his performances into success at major outdoor championships. Nevertheless, he became a two-time world indoor champion.
Now 29, Kejelcha attracted attention this year with an extraordinary marathon debut in London, clocking 1:59:41. Yet, 12 years after winning his Youth Olympic title, he is still chasing an Olympic medal on the senior stage.
Thiago Braz (2010, pole vault silver medallist)
Brazilian pole vaulter Thiago Braz narrowly missed out on gold at the inaugural Games in Singapore after losing the countback, settling for silver.
One year later, Braz became the Pan American U20 champion, followed by a World Junior Championship title two years later.
However, his performance in Rio introduced him to a much wider audience. Arriving at the Olympic Games on home soil with hopes of winning a medal, Braz improved his personal best by 10 centimetres in the final, clearing 6.03m.
The Brazilian denied legendary Renaud Lavillenie the gold medal, set a South American record and secured Brazil’s only athletics medal of the Games.
Mariya Kuchina (2010, high jump champion)
Russian high jumper Mariya Kuchina had already won silver medals at three major competitions before arriving at the Singapore 2010 Games.
However, she made history by winning the inaugural Youth Olympic high jump title with a clearance of 1.89m. Starting from YOG 2010, Kuchina went on to win 11 titles in 14 major championship finals. Beginning in 2014, she enjoyed an extraordinary run of success, remaining unbeaten at major championships. She eventually crowned her career with Olympic gold in Tokyo, where she was permitted to compete under special status despite Russia’s suspension, clearing 2.04m.
Noah Lyles (2014, 200m champion)
One of today’s most sensational sprint stars made his first appearance on the global stage in Nanjing. Lyles won the 200m after clocking 20.71 in the semi-final and 20.80 in the final. Beyond introducing himself as a rising talent, he also offered an early glimpse of the dominant personality he would later develop.
After becoming the World Junior 100m champion in 2016, Lyles continued his steady rise to the top. Over the following 12 years, he collected 10 World Championship medals and three Olympic medals. Along the way, he also broke Michael Johnson’s American 200m record with a time of 19.31.
Julien Alfred (2018, 100m silver medallist)
Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia competed in the 2018 Games, where the 100m competition was decided by the combined times of two races.
She finished second in her first race with 11.99 and repeated that position in the second, clocking 11.23. Her combined time of 23.22 earned her silver in Buenos Aires, behind Nigeria’s Rose Chukwuma. After breaking the 11-second barrier in 2022, Alfred began collecting medals at senior level and ultimately reached the highest point of her sport at Paris 2024.
Known as the “Saint Lucia Diamond”, Alfred won Olympic gold at 23, making history for her small Caribbean nation. In recognition of her achievement, the Saint Lucia Government dedicated 27 September to her.
Athing Mu (2018, 800m silver medallist)
American middle-distance runner Athing Mu holds the distinction of being one of the athletes to turn a Youth Olympic medal into senior Olympic gold in the shortest period of time. Mu won silver in the 800m at the 2018 Buenos Aires Games before becoming Olympic champion just three years later.
After improving her 800m performance by six seconds within a year, Mu won the Tokyo 2020 Olympic final in 1:55.21, setting an American record. Her victory gave the United States its first Olympic gold in the event in 43 years.
She added a World Championship title one year later, although her career began to lose momentum from 2023 onwards.
The 24-year-old Athing Mu, who married Russian Olympian Yegor Nikolayev last year, is currently expecting her first child.
Yaroslava Mahuchikh (2018, high jump champion)
World record-holder Yaroslava Mahuchikh dominated the junior ranks, completing her junior career without suffering a defeat at a major championship. As the clear favourite, she also won the Youth Olympic title by a commanding margin.
Mahuchikh finished 16 centimetres ahead of the silver medallist across the two competitions, making her exceptional talent impossible to overlook. It did not take long for that potential to translate into senior success. Starting with her European Indoor Championship title in 2021, Mahuchikh went on to win every major championship title at least once, building an extraordinary career before age 25.
She also added a world record to her achievements, clearing 2.10m to break a record that had stood for 37 years.
Jordan Díaz (2018, triple jump champion)
The Cuban talent’s triple jump victory at the Youth Olympic Games was one of the most dominant performances in the event's history. Díaz won the two-round final with jumps of 17.14m and 17.04m, finishing an astonishing 2.33 metres ahead of the silver medallist in the combined standings. He achieved these marks at just 17.
In 2021, Díaz defected to Spain and joined Ivan Pedroso's training group. Because of the change in nationality, he could not compete at the Tokyo Olympics. However, he made an extraordinary debut for Spain at the European Championships, recording 18.18m, the third-best jump in history. Just two months later, he delivered a major victory for his new country at the Paris Olympics.
