Mexico wins bronze in Beisbol5 at Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico City): Mexico’s Beisbol5 team competing at the IV Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026 won the bronze medal on Tuesday, defeating Kenya 2-1 in the third-place match. The mixed national team won the decisive innings 13-4 and 7-2 to secure victory over the African side.
The Mexican squad, made up of Jesús Espinoza, Oliva Frías, Sebastián Leal, Abril Martínez, Carlos Mercado, Isaac Rodríguez, Erika Solís and Etsy Valenzuela, was coached by Tania González and José Luis Salinas. Cuba won the gold medal after defeating Chinese Taipei 2-0, with parciales of 2-1 and 7-1.
On its path to the podium, Mexico beat Syria and France in the first round and lost to Kenya in Group B. In the quarterfinals, Mexico defeated Turkey 2-0 (10-5 and 12-7), then lost 2-1 to Chinese Taipei in the semifinal, earning the right to contest third place.
Beisbol5 is played without pitchers, catchers, bats or gloves, and is promoted as a lower-cost urban alternative to traditional baseball. The discipline, which made its debut at Dakar 2026, has been promoted in recent years by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), drawing on Latin American street baseball traditions such as Cuatro Esquinas in Cuba and Pelotica de Goma in Venezuela.
The bronze medal was Mexico’s second of the Games, after swimmer Daniel Saborío earlier on Tuesday won bronze in the 400-meter freestyle. The Mexican delegation traveled to Senegal amid controversy over the lack of economic support from the National Commission of Physical Culture and Sport (Conade) to finance travel and participation costs for the 62 Mexican athletes; those funds were absorbed by the Mexican Olympic Committee (COM) and its sponsors.
In response, the federal government has promised a year-long sports scholarship to all members of the delegation.
