Team SA add another medal to their Youth Games collection

Team SA went into competition on Sunday at the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympics with a total of five medals – one gold, three silver and a bronze – but Jean-Pierre Theron earned a silver medal in the hammer throw, to take Team SA to six medals, with a best throw of 71.79m. The total is one more than the five from Buenos Aires at the last such Games in 2018.

There were three codes represented on Sunday – artistic gymnastics, athletics, cycling.

CYCLING

Girls road race: Madison Bateson was officially credited with a 12th place finish but was part of the final sprint group, with the first 20 finishers all being given an official time of 1hr 31min 25sec for the 59.5km distance. Six of the 31 riders wilted in the heat, recording DNFs. Gold went to Russia’s Angelina Novolodskaya, ahead of Australia’s Elsie Apps. Bateson finished strongly; she was 26sec behind with 8km to go before latching on to the lead group in the closing kilometres.

Boys road race: Yahyaa Martin placed 27th in the 76.5km final, which was in a bunch some 59sec behind the winner, Daan Wilmsen, of Belgium, who out-sprinted three other riders in 1h4 47min 4sec. Martin was one of 18 cyclists who were in a bunch timed at 1:48:03.

ATHLETICS

SILVER! Boys hammer throw, final: John-Pierre Theron produced a best effort of 71.79m, with his second attempt, to take the silver medal, with Ecuador’s Patry Valdez Arroyo (73.27m) securing the gold. Theron’s other legal throws were 67.72m, 70,54m, 61,07m and 66.80m.

Theron, the 17-year-old from Vanderbijlpark, allowed his emotions to pour out after his heroic performance at the packed Iba Mar Diop Stadium in the heart of Dakar.

“I am extremely happy with my silver medal. The Lord had this in his plans for me today and I am so proud of the performance. It is an honour to wear this medal around my neck with my countries flag over my shoulders. It is a dream come true. Thank you to everyone involved with Team South Africa, it is an honour to be a part of this squad.”

The Grade 11 student at Vaaldriehoek Hoerskool could not wipe the smile off his face when describing the experience of the Youth Olympics.

“This has been amazing. To represent my country and win a medal for the team means more than I can explain. This was my first time competing in an international event and the level of pressure was so much higher than anything I have experienced before. I handled it well and it is a great sign of what can be achieved in the future.”

Girls 100mH, semi-finals: Janelle Kirkpatrick qualified for the final after finishing fourth in her semi-final, in 14.39sec, with China’s Keyi Zhang winning the race in her season’s best 13.45sec. Kirkpatrick was ninth fastest on the overall list heading into the final.

Girls discus, final: Shiloh Snijders

Girls 100mH, final: Kirkpatrick had a much-improved run, clocking 13.78, which left her in fifth position. China’s Keyi Zhang also went quicker and won gold in a PB 13.17sec.

ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS

Girls Qualification, Sub-Division 3: Haylee van Rensburg performed best of the Team SA trio but all three missed out on a place in the final after finishing outside of the top 18 after the completion of the three sub-divisions. Van Rensburg was 37th with a total of 47.432 points. Lila du Plessis was 42nd with 40.299 points and Zia Davids 45th with 39.532 points.

Monday promises more opportunities to bring home medals in the athletics as Megan Nieman will be competing in the women’s 400m hurdles, Darius Botha will be in action in the men’s shot put and Engrique Bosch will feature in the men’s 110m hurdles.

MEDALS (6)

GOLD (1)

Callum Dreyer (boys rowing – coastal beach sprints)

SILVER (4)

Leah Markgraaff (swimming, girls 400m freestyle)

Chanel Veldsman (swimming, girls 100m breaststroke)

John-Pierre Theron (athletics, boys hammer throw)

Rugby Sevens (boys)

BRONZE (1)

Chanel Veldsman (swimming, girls 200m breaststroke)