Kenya’s two-time Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge has been named a Global Ambassador for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG), with the marathon legend set to share his experience with the next generation of athletes at the first Olympic sporting event to be held in Africa.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest marathon runners of all time, Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge has competed at five Olympic Games, winning four medals, including consecutive marathon golds at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
As Global Ambassador for Dakar 2026, the 41-year-old is now preparing to connect with young athletes in Senegal, drawing on more than two decades at the highest level of international sport to help them make the most of their YOG experience. He will also serve as a mentor to the Refugee Olympic Team, which will compete at the YOG for the first time at Dakar 2026.
Kipchoge joins Brazilian skateboarding star and two-time Olympic medallist Rayssa Leal as a Global Ambassador for Dakar 2026, following the involvement of other celebrated Olympians at previous editions of the YOG, including Eileen Gu, Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt, Michelle Wie, Yao Ming and Chad Le Clos.
For Kipchoge, the role represents an opportunity to give something back to the young athletes following in his footsteps.
“I was really happy – it made my day – to become a Global Ambassador for the Games,” he says. “I’ve been in the sport for 24 years; it’s my time to give back to the next generation. And the youth in Dakar are exactly the next generation I want to walk with.”
“When I go to Dakar, I’ll make sure I meet young athletes from across the world– meet them, have an honest talk, mentor them, and look at what the future of sport, and the world, looks like.”
From Olympic champion to mentor
Kipchoge’s remarkable career has seen him become one of the most successful distance runners in history.
After winning 5,000m bronze at Athens 2004 and silver at Beijing 2008, the Kenyan switched his focus to the road and went on to win consecutive Olympic marathon titles at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
He also won five Berlin Marathons and four London Marathons, and twice broke the marathon world record. In 2019, Kipchoge became the first person to cover the marathon distance in under two hours, clocking 1:59:40 in Vienna as part of a specially staged event. He is currently attempting to run seven marathons on seven continents in order to inspire runners in every corner of the globe and raise funds for the Eliud Kipchoge Foundation. See this link for more details: Eliud’s Running World
Now, he hopes to use those experiences to encourage young athletes as they begin their own journeys.
“My message to these young people is that this chance is the key,” he says. “It’s their time to fight for their space – and that space is happening in Dakar. Let’s fight for it, show your ability, in the universal language of sport.”
A special moment for Africa
Dakar 2026 will hold particular significance for Kipchoge, with the YOG becoming the first Olympic sporting event to be staged on the African continent.
“Dakar 2026 is a huge event on our young continent – something we’ve long waited for here,” he says. “Being the first, it will stay vivid in the minds of young people and the general public for a very long time.”
Beyond the competition itself, Kipchoge is looking forward to seeing young athletes from across the world come together in Senegal, sharing experiences and learning about different cultures.
“It’s about mixing with the world in order to understand it,” he says. “That will be the best thing for us, to realise the world is all around us.”
Supporting the Refugee Olympic Team
Kipchoge has already begun working with the young refugee athletes who will compete at Dakar 2026, leading a mentoring session focused on discipline, education, values and what it takes to succeed in sport and in life.
“Mentoring the Refugee Team means a lot to me. I talked to them about the importance of having the right values in your life, your education and your sport – the real recipe for success, and what success means in sport and in life.”
Kipchoge believes the Refugee Olympic Team’s participation at Dakar 2026 will provide its six young athletes with an important platform to demonstrate their abilities on an international stage.
“The advice I love to give refugees is this: sport is life,” he says. “For them, sport is a real opportunity – it gives them a platform to showcase themselves and to fight for their space.”
For Kipchoge, Dakar 2026 will ultimately be an opportunity to celebrate sport with a new generation on his home continent.
“These Youth Olympics are reason enough for me to be there – to meet people, talk to them, and celebrate with athletes from different countries,” he says.
The Dakar 2026 YOG will take place from 31 October to 13 November 2026, bringing together around 2,700 young athletes aged up to 17 across three host zones: Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly.
The official ticketing for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games is now open!
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