HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam will have ten representatives to compete for medals at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Dakar, Senegal, which is considered a strong foundation for a later professional sporting career.

They will be among the 2,700 young athletes (aged 15-17) from over 200 national olympic committees, including a Youth Refugee Olympic, and take part in 25 sports, including athletics, futsal, street skateboarding, and beach wrestling, in official competition. An extensive programme centred on 10 engagement sports has also been developed, to enable the public to discover new disciplines and be part of the Games experience.

This edition of the YOG also aims to achieve full gender parity between girls and boys. This is the first in the history of the Youth Olympic Games, which were launched in Singapore in 2010. 

In detail, 239 events are scheduled: 11 mixed-team events, 114 events for male athletes and 114 events for female athletes held in three cities, Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly, from October 31 to November 13.

Việt Nam expects to have medals in swimming, beach wrestling and wushu.

The swimming campaign will be led by Dương Văn Hoàng Quy and Nguyễn Thúy Hiền. Hiền is scheduled to compete in the women's 100m freestyle, while Quy will take part in the men's 200m butterfly.

Both recently took part in an intensive training course in China in preparation for the Games.

According to the coaching staff, Hiền and Quy are among Việt Nam’s promising swimmers but will face tough competition in their respective events. Both have medal-winning potential, provided they maintain consistent performances and remain mentally composed throughout the competition.

Quy's best achievement was a silver medal from the 2025 SEA Games, the regional largest sport festival organised every two years. He also shone at the Asian Age Groups Swimming Championships 2026 with a gold medal in the boys' 17-18 age group.

Hiền was even more outstanding as she competed in tournaments of all levels, from regional to world championships for young swimmers. In 2025, she won one individual and one team bronze at the SEA Games.

In 2026, Hiền secured three gold medals from the Asian Age Groups Swimming Championships and had a great opportunity to test her skills against world senior swimmers at the 20th Asian Games, which closed in Japan earlier this month.

Coach Võ Thái Nguyên said Hiền's results at the Asian championship were reviewed and adjusted so that she would reach her best at the Senegal competition.

In beach wrestling, among three contenders, Lò Thị Hồng is expected to take a prestigious medal.

The 16-year-old is the reigning world youth beach wrestling champion in the women's 45 kg category after her victory in Azerbaijan in August.

Hồng has practised wrestling for four years and received strong care from coaches of Thanh Hóa Province and the national teams.

Her bravery and mastery of submission moves made her stand out compared to athletes of the same age, and they were also her keys to victories in the world event.

Tạ Đình Đức, general secretary of the Việt Nam Wrestling Federation, said Hồng was a title favourite of Việt Nam. Her gold medals from the Asian and world championships for youth proved her abilities. If she maintains her good form and focus in Senegal, everything will be possible for Hồng.

Meanwhile, medal hopeful Nguyễn Khắc Lê Hoàng is set to make history as Việt Nam’s first-ever wushu representative at the YOG, where he will compete in the men's taijiquan (taolu) event.

"We decided to grant Hoàng the opportunity to compete in the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Việt Nam's debut on this playing ground. It is based on his achievement from recent competitions in the world championship, where he won one gold and two bronze medals," said Vũ Văn Trung, a representative for the Wushu Department of the Sports Authority of Việt Nam (SAV).

Earlier, he also took title from the World Youth Wushu Championship 2026. In 2024, he secured two golds in the World Taijiquan Championships.

Other potential representatives of Việt Nam include cyclist Nguyễn Khang Hà My, taekwondo fighter Trương Nhật Huy, badminton player Nguyễn Thị Thu Huyền, and 400m runner Đồng Thị Hường.

Athletes left for Senegal on October 26 and have several days to get familiar with the new environmental conditions and venues. 

In the previous Games in 2018, Việt Nam had 13 competitors in seven sports. Among them, Nguyễn Huy Hoàng won gold in the men's 800m freestyle in swimming, and Ngô Sơn Đỉnh topped the podium of the men's 56 kg weightlifting category. Vietnamese athletes also took gold medals in the 2010 and 2014 editions. — VNS