Taekwondo will feature prominently at the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Dakar 2026, after the IOC Executive Board confirmed there will be 11 medal events in the sport, the third highest of any sport at the Games.
It is further demonstration of Taekwondo’s growing global popularity, including among young people, only athletics and aquatics will have more medal events of the 25 sports on the Dakar 2026 competition programme.
There will be five weight categories for male and for female athletes, and the Taekwondo medal events will be completed by a Mixed Team competition.
Male athletes will compete in the -48kg, -55kg, -63kg, -73kg and +73kg weight categories, and female athletes in the -44kg, -49kg, -55kg, -63kg and +63kg.
The IOC Executive Board approved events and athlete quotas at its meeting in December 2024, and also confirmed Taekwondo’s quota at 100 athletes at the YOG Dakar 2026.
This followed on from Taekwondo’s place on the competition programme being confirmed by the IOC Executive Board in June 2024.
Taekwondo’s 11 medal events are part of the 151 medal events across all sports, which include 72 each for men and women, as well as seven mixed-gender events.
World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue expressed his gratitude for Taekwondo’s significant inclusion at Dakar 2026.
“We are grateful to the IOC and the Organising Committee for including 11 Taekwondo medal events on the competition programme of the Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026,” President Choue said.
“This is testament to the great progress we have made in developing a modern, inclusive and accessible sport which is enjoyed by young people around the world.
“Dakar 2026 will be a wonderful celebration of the world’s best young athletes and a significant milestone as the first Olympic sports event held on the African continent. Taekwondo has a very strong presence in Africa and the YOG will strengthen this even further. We are very excited to see Taekwondo thrive once again on this stage.”
Taekwondo has featured at each YOG since the inaugural edition in Singapore in 2010.
Dakar 2026 will run from 31 October to 13 November, with a total of 2,700 athletes taking part.
