Dakar 2026: Saint-Louis camp prepares athletes and their coaches
The regional athletics and swimming camp runs until 16 October at Gaston Berger University. What is at stake goes beyond the young athletes' sessions: it also involves their coaching staff.
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Preparation for the Youth Olympic Games is not just about the athletes. In Saint-Louis, Senegal, a camp brings together young athletes and their coaches in two sports: athletics and swimming. Organised from 10 to 16 October by the Senegalese National Olympic and Sports Committee and the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), it is under way with the opening of Dakar 2026 scheduled for 31 October.
This gathering at Gaston Berger University offers a concrete example of what comes before the competition. For families following a young athlete, it is important to distinguish this stage of work from Olympic selection or a result: taking part in a camp is not enough to establish either.
Sprint work gives a first look at the training
The report published on 14 October by Benin Sports places Benin's Kissagui Guera Ibrahim in this preparation, alongside national technical director Evrard Anayan. It describes the first sessions on 11 October: sprinting, with repetitions over 120 metres, and mobility work. These are training elements, with no competition time announced and no performance to compare.
The same outlet says six countries are represented: Senegal, Benin, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Togo and Cape Verde. The regional makeup shows the scale of the camp. On its own, it does not give the list of future competitors in each event in Dakar.
The camp trains coaches as well
The Senegalese Olympic committee's statement, published on 13 October, names two experts: Papa Serigne Diene of World Athletics for athletics, and Malick Fall of World Aquatics for swimming. Their brief includes technical support for the coaches attending.
The value of this second strand lies in passing on knowledge. A camp can be used to work with the young athletes already gathered; training their coaches also looks ahead to the sessions that will follow in their home countries. The organisers present the sharing of methods as a lasting goal. For now, knowledge transfer is only a stated goal; the documents reviewed show no measured impact.
The Benin Web TV report on Ivorian participation also highlights this dual support. It would be premature to assign each person a specific event or sporting ambition.
The next date announced for the camp is its close on 16 October. The Games will run from 31 October to 13 November. For a general guide to the Games, our guide to following Dakar 2026 complements this stage of preparation.
Sources
Documents consulted on 14 October 2026.
- CNOSS, statement of 13 October: organisation, dates, sports, experts and coach training.
- Benin Sports, Pérez Lekotan, 14 October: Beninese participation, sessions and countries present.
- Benin Web TV, Anne Laporte, 14 October: Ivorian participation and coaching staff. This outlet draws on Benin Sports for the list of six countries.
- Photo: Adjoajo, entrance of Gaston Berger University, 16 May 2026, under CC BY-SA 3.0. File image of the venue, separate from the October camp. Cropped, with SNA logo added; photographic adaptation distributed under the same licence, with no transfer of rights to the SNA brand.
