The new sports debuting at Africa's first Olympics

After a spectacular opening ceremony which celebrated Senegalese national identity and wider African culture on Saturday, the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics are in full swing.

The continent's first ever Olympic event is showcasing new sports which have never appeared at any version of the Games before and has offered athletes predominantly aged 15 to 17 a place in the history books.

First-time Olympic medallists have been crowned in baseball5 and wushu taolu, while some of the rowers who secured places on the podium in coastal beach sprint events may well be eyeing up potential glory at the senior Los Angeles 2028 Games.

BBC Sport Africa examines what has attracted the most attention during the first week of competition.

Arguably the most eye-catching sport on show in Senegal has been this modern Chinese martial art, better known around the world as kung fu and practiced competitively in two forms via choreographed sequences or sparring.

Promoted by the government of the People's Republic of China to encourage friendly international exchange, the International Wushu Federation was established in 1990 to formalise centuries-old disciplines popularised by the likes of movie stars Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh.

Wushu has featured as an exhibition event or part of the cultural programme at past Games, but medals in changquan and tajiquan were up for grabs on its official debut as an Olympic sport.

Changquan combines speed, kicks, jumps and acrobatics while taijiquan is akin to tai chi and involves controlled movements which flow together in a precise performance set to music.

National team uniforms were dispensed with to allow competitors to wear their own flowing robes, which were often brightly coloured and enhanced with detailed designs.

"Everybody has a different kind of flavour to their moves," the United States' Marshall Brayton said.

"I think that uniqueness in every person's routine is the essence of wushu."

As jumps, flips and flourishes with weaponry caught the eye in changquan, setting moves to music came with its own challenges in tajiquan.

"I was advised to sleep to the song (used in performance)," eventual champion Zhe Nin Ng of Singapore said after day two of competition.

"I had to understand it more and have it in my muscle memory. I keep playing it again and again until I fall asleep."

All you need to know about the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics

While rowing has been an Olympic staple since 1900, a new twist has been added with the arrival of this discipline on Senegal's Atlantic coast.

The competition begins on dry land with an athlete running down the beach, boarding their boat and rowing out 250m to a marker buoy before turning sharply and racing back.

Once they return to shore, they then jump out of the boat and sprint back up the beach to touch a buzzer on the finish line. The fastest time wins.

"It's super fun. It's a lot more exciting than traditional rowing," 17-year-old USA's Isaac Moos told Olympics.com.

Beachfront spectators have the benefit of being able to witness a whole race and the unpredictability of sea conditions adds an extra element to competition.

"The waves are constantly changing and one small mistake can cost you," said Su Juntao, who won gold for China in the mixed double sculls.

"You have to push for more speed while keeping your mistakes to a minimum. That's what makes it so challenging and exciting."

And this is just the start for coastal rowing at the Olympics, because it is set to replace the lightweight double sculls category at LA 2028.

Baseball will also be included on the schedule in California in four years' time, but an urban, simplified version of the sport kicked off the action in Dakar last Friday.

Introduced to increase accessibility and taking inspiration from street games, the five-a-side version does not require equipment and featured mixed-gender teams on its Olympic debut.

With no pitcher, players for the 'batting' side using their hand to hit the rubber ball from a standing position on an 18m x 18m court featuring four bases.

There are no strikes, meaning each 'batter' gets just one chance to hit the ball legally as they attempt to score as many runs as possible before their team suffers three outs.

Played over five innings, it is faster-paced than its bigger brother and skills are rewarded over strength.

Cuba, the nation at the top of the all-time Olympic baseball medal table with three golds, fittingly opened the competition with a victory over Turkey.

"We have baseball running through our veins and in our hearts, and we will always, always, always put Cuba at the top," player Jean Carlos Machado Casado told Olympics.com.

While Olympics fans are used to seeing beach volleyball, two more traditional sports have been given a twist in Senegal.

Handball and wresting events have also been relocated to Saly's beach, known for its fine sand and turquoise waters.

Featured in continental and world championships, and promotional events organised by governing body United World Wrestling, beach wrestling fittingly makes its Youth Olympics debut in Senegal, where traditional forms of wrestling remain incredibly popular.

Two athletes contest bouts inside a circular area on sand, scoring points through throws, takedowns, or forcing the opponent out of bounds.

Matches, to be contested this weekend, are expected to be short and fast-paced.

Eight-a-side handball, which also featured at the Buenos Aires Youth Games in 2018, will be among the final events contested at Dakar 2026.

Skateboarding, first included in the senior Olympic schedule at Tokyo 2020, also made its Youth Games debut in Dakar.