Canada Sends 28 Athletes to Dakar Youth Games
Canada's 28-athlete team opened the 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, with Evie Pritchard of Nanaimo among its competitors.
Updated on Oct. 31, 2026 in Olympics
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The 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games opened Saturday in Dakar, Senegal, with a 28-athlete Canadian team competing across multiple sports. Adam Burnett of Toronto and Miranda Wei of Calgary carried the Canadian flag in the opening ceremony.
Why it matters
The Games give young Canadian athletes international competition experience and a possible pathway to the Pan American Games and the Olympic Games. For readers across Canada, the team's results offer an early look at the country's next generation of competitors.
The Canadian Olympic Committee's roster lists 28 athletes, and Canadian athletes have won 31 medals across the first three Youth Summer Olympics. Medal results for the Dakar Games were not yet available in the source material.
The players
Evie Pritchard
A 14-year-old skateboarder from Nanaimo who reached the semifinals in her first World Skateboarding Tour event against older competitors.
Eric Myles
A Canadian Olympic official who said the Youth Olympic Games can help athletes progress to the Pan American Games and the Olympic Games.
The details
Canada's team includes Evie Pritchard of Nanaimo, who is 14 and the youngest member of the Canadian squad, competing in skateboarding. Theodore Schaddelee and Luca Robb of Victoria, both 17, are on the sevens rugby team, which is in Pool A with South Africa, Germany and Senegal.
Timeline
Saturday (October 31, 2026): Opening ceremony of the 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Dakar.
November 13, 2026: Scheduled conclusion of the Games.
Season Trajectory
The 2026 Games were postponed from 2022 because of the pandemic, so this edition arrives four years later than planned. For Canadian sport, the event serves as a development stage between national youth programs and senior international competition.
Readers following Canadian athletes can track results from Pool A and individual events as the Games progress. Fans of skateboarding and rugby will have a chance to follow Pritchard, Schaddelee and Robb through the competition schedule.
The takeaway
Young Canadian athletes are gaining major international experience early in their careers, and the Dakar Games may shape which of them move on to senior competition.
What happens next
The Games are scheduled to conclude on November 13, 2026, when final medal results will be decided.
Further reading
Explore more coverage in the Olympics section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Times Colonist.
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