Special Dakar: 13 Russians won eight gold medals at the Youth Olympics

More than half of the IV Summer Youth Olympic Games in Dakar are behind us, where Russia surprises with high results in a very limited squad. By November 10, the Russians had won eight gold, four silver and one bronze medals, ranking third after China and Japan. Our team has only 13 athletes from nine sports, fewer than most of the leading delegations. 10 of them have already become medalists. Almost every Russian came with serious junior experience and titles, but some performances deserve a separate story.

Two gold medals after a serious injury

The main source of awards was swimming: five medals, four of them gold. Russian swimmer Bogdan Toropkin won the 100 m freestyle in 49.66 seconds, and beat Hungarian Oliver Papai, the silver medalist of the European Adult Championships, in the 200 m. After the silver in the 400 m, he turned out to be the most decorated Russian in Dakar.

— I was not satisfied with myself at any of the three distances. Everything is on the "three". But at least I helped the team with my medals," Toropkin said in an interview with the press service of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC).

Russian swimmer Serafima Fokina won the 100m and 50m butterfly. In the short distance, Croatian Ana Bobanovic lost to her by only five hundredths of a second. Serafima finished fourth in the 200 m. Fokina's two medals are a mini-feat. During the New Year holidays in Kislovodsk, she dislocated her knee and broke the condyle of her femur. She returned to the pool on January 28, at first she swam only on her hands, and since March she has been training fully.

— It hurt like hell, especially when the painkillers wore off. Then the doctors, the MRI scan, the predictions that I might not come back," Fokina recalled in an interview with the OCD press service. — I'm glad that in the end I managed to recover and even win two races at the Youth Olympics.

Russia won another gold on November 8 in the group cycling race. The world junior champion on the track, Angelina Novolodskaya, tried to break away, but won the overall sprint by trickery. There was a speed bump before the finish line: a cyclist from Veliky Novgorod accelerated before the bump, and the competitors slowed down.

"And I did it!" And I also listened to the anthem on the podium — it's the first time in my career that I have a competition with a flag and an anthem," Novolodskaya said in an interview with the ROC press service.

Ulyana Belykh, a 15-year-old rapier player, won the sixth gold. In the group, the native of the Kursk region lost to Polish Danuta Tim — 3:4, but defeated her 15 in the semifinals.:3. In the decisive battle, the Russian defeated Egyptian Sarah Amr Hosni — 15:8.

— It was after this defeat that the tension disappeared. I realized that I wouldn't get far on shaky legs," Belykh admitted in an interview with the OCD website.

Three more times our athletes stopped a step away from triumph. Judoka Anastasia Dobrovolskaya (up to 78 kg), cyclist Stepan Bortnik and taekwondo practitioner Elina Thamokova (up to 44 kg) won three silver medals. Dobrovolskaya won three early victories, and in the final she lost to Brazilian Clarissa Vallim. Belgian Dan Wilmsen beat Bortnik, while Croatian Petra Uglesic beat Thamokova.

Two gold and a bronze

On November 10, Novolodskaya participated in an individual cycling race with a split start of 8.5 km. Angelina was one of the main contenders for the second gold, but eventually became the third. The first place was taken by Kazakhstani cyclist Anel Tashbai. The second place went to the representative of Slovakia, Karolina Hajdukova.

We also had good chances for medals in gymnastics. Multiple European junior champion Polina Dmitrieva qualified for the individual all-around third with a score of 52.733 points, but the gap from the leaders was minimal. As a result, Dmitrieva managed to beat her competitors. Polina scored 54.665 points. The silver medalist was Frenchwoman Luana Plisson (53.665). The third place was taken by Chinese Zhong Qi (53,199).

The European junior champion Daniil Smirnov had the sixth total of points (76.764) after the selection. He needed to add the Dakar final to his qualifying total, and he did it brilliantly. Smirnov eventually scored 81.298 points. British Uzair Choudhury won the silver medal (79.132), while Japanese Ikki Nishihara was third (79.065).

"I just knew that I needed to make my own work combination, and nothing more was required of me,— Smirnov told TASS. — To be honest, there was no jitters at all. Are we in the top three of the medal standings? It's amazing. Now I will do everything possible to get to the Olympics in Los Angeles.

The mixed team final is scheduled for November 11. The Dmitrieva–Smirnov pair went there with the fourth qualifying result — 76.465 points. There is a good chance that we will have a podium again, and possibly another gold.

Another serious candidate for a medal is two—time world junior taekwondo champion Bashir Adzhiev, who will start in the over 73 kg category.

The final sets of awards will be awarded on November 13th.

YUOI's future is in doubt

In 2018, in Buenos Aires, the Russian team of 94 athletes won the unofficial standings with 59 medals, including 29 gold. Now, instead of almost 240 sets of awards, only 153 are being awarded at the UOI, and instead of 4 thousand athletes, about 2,700 are competing. The gymnasts did not even have separate finals for the shells. Therefore, comparing the medals of two tournaments with a difference of eight years requires an adjustment to the format.

With 15 gold awards, China is still far ahead at the 2026 South Asian Games (but there are more than a hundred athletes in their delegation). Japan has nine wins, Russia has eight, and Egypt has six. Ethiopia and Senegal are next, having already won five gold medals each. But the USA, with a score of 2-2-2, was only at the end of the second ten.

The Americans brought 29 people to Dakar in 12 sports, but they dispensed with swimming, athletics and gymnastics. USA Gymnastics refused to travel back in the spring due to restrictions on the accreditation of personal trainers and concerns for the safety of children. According to the federation, some other US organizations also chose to stay at home after the Dakar inspection. Therefore, the Americans' place in the standings also reflects the incomplete composition.

There are indeed grounds for concern in some cases.

— There are no air conditioners in the rooms, there are only fans, which do not always help. More precisely, they don't help much," said Anar Bagirov, head of the International Relations Department of the NOC of Azerbaijan, head of the delegation, in an interview with the newspaper İdman.Biz .

Azerbaijani swimmers spent 95-100 minutes on the way to the pool with transfers, and sometimes there were not enough seats on stuffy buses. The water was heated to 33-34 degrees, so the 800 m swim was canceled. At the same time, Bagirov praised the food and said that transportation and cleaning were gradually adjusted. The problems are real, although there is no complete organizational failure.

In May, the IOC suspended the selection of the hosts for the 2030 Summer Olympics, deciding to review the objectives and format of the project. General impressions of Dakar will be a part of this conversation. Small delegations are able to compete for the top places in the table, but the absence of leading countries in individual disciplines reduces competition, and everyday shortcomings take away strength from young athletes. It is still unknown whether the UOI will retain the status of a large tournament of the strongest juniors or become a more chamber project.