Ghana names 13-athlete squad for Dakar Youth Olympics

The Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) has named a 13-athlete team to represent the country at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, the first Olympic event to be staged on African soil.

The Games will take place in Senegal from 31 October to 13 November, with Ghana competing in eight sports across the three host zones of Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly.

Ghana’s squad features athletes aged between 13 and 17, all of whom secured qualification through their respective International Federations.

The team will compete in athletics, badminton, boxing, beach volleyball, judo, swimming, table tennis and taekwondo.

Ghana’s Dakar 2026 squad

Athletics: Mary Coffie (women’s 400m hurdles), Stephen Oduro Jnr (men’s 400m hurdles)

Badminton: Andy Amofa (men’s singles)

Beach volleyball: Justice Adusei Amoafo, Daniel Lartey

Boxing: Robert Amartey Tagoe (men’s 70kg)

Judo: Bernice Mawena Akakpo (women’s -63kg)

Swimming: Kelvin Abdallah (50m backstroke, 50m butterfly, 50m freestyle), Mercedes Abdallah (100m backstroke, 100m butterfly, 50m backstroke), Tamba Akin Boamah (100m breaststroke, 100m freestyle, 200m breaststroke, 50m backstroke), Jada Yankey (100m freestyle, 50m breaststroke, 50m butterfly, 50m freestyle)

Table tennis: Joanita Borteye (women’s singles)

Taekwondo: Jessica Mensah (women’s +63kg)

The Dakar Games mark a significant milestone for the Olympic Movement, with Africa hosting an Olympic event for the first time, and Ghana’s youthful team will be part of that historic occasion when competition begins at the end of October.