‘Magnificent’ Dakar Youth Games praised by IOC but future in doubt

President of the IOC Kirsty Coventry and Chair of the IOC Coordination Commission Humphrey Kayange during a press briefing. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

The Youth Olympic Games in Dakar earned high marks from the International ​Olympic Committee on Thursday, a day before the closing ‌ceremony, but the event’s future remains unclear.

Senegal ​is the first African country to ⁠host an Olympic sporting event, with the Youth Games involving almost 2,700 young athletes from 204 national ‌Olympic committees. Africa has never hosted an Olympics Games.

“Everyone came here with certain ‌expectations and those expectations have been far ‌exceeded,” ⁠IOC President Kirsty Coventry, the Zimbabwean former ⁠Olympic swimming champion, told a press conference.

“It has been an magnificent journey. It has been extremely magical.”

Coventry said the ​IOC, which this year ‌paused the process for awarding the hosting of the 2030 Youth Games, was still analysing all aspects before a decision is taken.

“We ‌took a pause..and we are analysing and ​that’s where we are. We are still analysing. The data we will collect ⁠from Dakar will be added,” she said.

“As we move forward the way we want to engage ‌with young people is extremely important. We have to analyse what will be the best way for the movement to continue in the future.”

She did not say when a decision was likely on the future of the event.

The ‌IOC staged the first summer Youth Games, the brainchild of ​former IOC President Jacques Rogge, in 2010 in Singapore, followed by the 2012 ⁠winter Youth Olympics in Innsbruck. The 2028 Winter Games ⁠will be held in Italy.

“15% conversion (of athletes) from the Youth Olympic Games to ‌the Olympic Games. We have to be very realistic about what we want toe Youth ​Olympics to be,” Coventry said.