Ethiopia took centre stage on the second day of the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar. After losing two finals to Kenya during the opening session, Ethiopia bounced back impressively, winning four medals, including two golds, to move to the top of the athletics medal standings.
In the men’s 2000m steeplechase, Junedin Abdo stole the spotlight by setting the fastest time ever recorded in this age category. After a blisteringly fast opening 1000 metres, covered in 2:40, Abdo took control in the second half of the race and became the first athlete in history to break the 5:30 barrier.
The 15-year-old Ethiopian improved on Brian Kiptoo’s previous U18 world best of 5:31.96 by approximately two and a half seconds.
Netsanet Selemon, who broke the Games record in the women’s 800m with 2:04.43, and Wabi Seblega, winner of the men’s 1500m, also secured gold medals for Ethiopia on the second day.
Jamaica’s Marquies Page claimed the men’s 110m hurdles title in 12.95. Page improved by 0.01 seconds on the Jamaican record of 12.96 set by Jaheel Hyde, winner at the 2014 Nanjing Games, 12 years ago. His performance also moved him into fifth place on the all-time list. Meanwhile, Page’s gold medal marked Jamaica’s fourth athletics title in Youth Olympic Games history.
Egyptian Yahya Sawabi won Egypt's first-ever YOG gold in the men’s discus. Sawabi won the final contest by a margin of two metres, setting an African U18 record with a throw of 68.23m. The young Egyptian had finished second at the African Youth Games just one year earlier, with a throw of 60.78m.
Another athlete who turned a victory at the African Youth Games a year earlier into a global title in Dakar was Nigeria’s Tejiri Ugoh. Despite coming under intense pressure from Aisha Tariq of the UAE in the final stretch, Ugoh held on to her lead and crossed the finish line first. Her winning time of 52.76 earned Nigeria its third gold medal at the Games. Venezuela’s Osmary Pacheco finished strongly to secure second place and the silver medal.
