Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026 French archers, Digi Mart USA News (Dakar, Senegal): The Youth Olympic Games opened Saturday, October 31, in Dakar, Senegal, after a ceremony that brought together more than 1,100 artists. This fourth edition takes place in Africa for the first time and includes 25 sports, among them archery, which runs from November 6 to 10.
More than 2,600 athletes from 207 delegations are expected in Senegal for the Games. Aged 14 to 17, the young athletes will experience an Olympic event for the first time.
A key goal of the Games is to introduce them to Olympic culture and values through exchanges and workshops that encourage openness to the world and better preparation for their sporting careers.
France’s delegation includes 69 athletes and will be represented in 22 of the 25 sports on the program. It is the second-largest contingent after host country Senegal.
Two young French archers will compete at the Games: Aurane Lapouge of Riom and Maël Lamouret of Compiègne. Both achieved strong results this summer at the European Youth Championships in Italy, where they won the team event.
Lamouret has since joined the INSEP, where he trains with the France 2027 squad ahead of the Los Angeles Games.
The two French archers will also compete together in the mixed doubles. This event has changed from previous editions, when teams paired archers of different nationalities.
Jérôme Auraix, coach of the Bordeaux training center and the French youth team, will accompany them at the event.
Across three editions, France has already won two medals. Mélanie Gaubil took silver in individual competition in Nanjing in 2014, and in 2018 Kyla Touraine-Helias became Youth Olympic champion in mixed doubles in Buenos Aires alongside Spain’s Jose Solera.
Archery will compete at the Abdoulaye Wade Stadium, a modern complex with a capacity of 50,000 seats that also hosted the opening ceremony.
French athlete Lisa Barbelin, who won bronze at the most recent Olympic Games in Paris, will also be on site. She has been named the role model athlete for archery.
In each sport, an emblematic athlete is present to inspire and guide the young competitors during this first Olympic experience.
At 26, Barbelin, the first French woman to win an individual Olympic medal, embodies this role and plans to pass on her experience to future champions. She will be joined by four other French athletes: Clarisse Agbegnenou in judo, Charline Picon in sailing, Michel Bourez in surfing and Vincent Luis in triathlon.
France Télévisions will broadcast the competitions live on France TV Sport and its social media channels. Archery will be among the featured disciplines.
