Senegal Youth Olympics in Dakar end on high note

The Senegal Summer Youth Olympics in Dakar ended Friday after two weeks of games on a high note.

It's the first time an African country has hosted an Olympic event, and African nations also brought home a record haul of medals. The Games were met with enthusiasm, with Dakar's streets and beaches filled with sports fans.

Nearly 2,700 young athletes took part in the games, which featured 153 medal events across 25 sports.

"There is a beautiful African proverb, 'It take a village to raise a child.' And if these Youth Olympic Games have shown us anything it is what can happen when an entire country comes together for its young people," International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry said in a thank-you ceremony on Friday.

Coventry praised the Senegalese people for hosting the games: "You have shown the world what Senegal and Africa are capable of, and when people come together behind a shared dream, how strong that can make us. You have every reason to be so proud."

She said earlier in the week that "expectations have been exceeded" when it came to Senegal hosting the games and that it shows what African nations are capable of in the future.

China took home the most gold medals at 18.

Japan took home 11 gold medals, whereas Russia received eight. It was the first time Russian athletes took part in an Olympic event under their own national flag since the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

Egypt won six gold medals, and Ethiopia and Senegal each earned five.

It was the first time Senegal had ever won an Olympic gold, with 136 Senegalese athletes participating in the games.

The next Summer Youth Olympics will take place in 2030, with Chile, Paraguay and Thailand having confirmed their bids to host the games.