Eliud Kipchoge takes up Dakar 2026 ambassador role as he prepares to mentor young athletes
By Joel Masibo, September 29, 2026Two-time Olympic marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge has been appointed a Global Ambassador for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, where he will use his vast experience in elite sport to encourage and guide young athletes.
The Kenyan distance-running legend will be part of the first Olympic sporting event to be staged on African soil when the Youth Olympic Games take place in Senegal from October 31 to November 13, 2026.
Kipchoge, who has competed at five Olympic Games and collected four medals, won marathon gold at both the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
At Dakar 2026, the 41-year-old will interact with athletes from around the world and provide mentorship based on more than two decades of competing at the highest level.
Kipchoge’s other roles
He will also mentor the Refugee Olympic Team, which is set to make its first appearance at the Youth Olympic Games.
Kipchoge will share the Global Ambassador role with Brazilian skateboarding star Rayssa Leal, a two-time Olympic medallist. They follow a number of prominent athletes who have taken ambassadorial or mentoring roles at previous editions of the Youth Olympic Games.
For Kipchoge, the appointment provides an opportunity to pass his knowledge and experience to a younger generation.
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“I was really happy – it made my day – to become a Global Ambassador for the Games. 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.”
He plans to use his time in Senegal to engage directly with the young competitors.
“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.”
A career built on Olympic success
Kipchoge’s career has established him as one of the most accomplished long-distance runners in history.
He first won an Olympic medal at Athens 2004, taking bronze in the 5,000m before claiming silver in the same event at Beijing 2008.
He later moved his attention to marathon running and became Olympic champion at Rio 2016 before successfully defending his title at Tokyo 2020.
His achievements also include five Berlin Marathon victories and four London Marathon wins, while he has broken the marathon world record twice.
In 2019, he became the first athlete to run the marathon distance in less than two hours, recording 1:59:40 in Vienna during a specially organised event.
He is currently pursuing a seven-marathon challenge across seven continents, with the project also supporting the Eliud Kipchoge Foundation.
The Kenyan hopes those experiences will help him motivate the next generation of athletes at Dakar.
“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.” The marathoner is quoted by the Olympics.com.
Dakar offers a historic moment for Africa
The Youth Olympic Games will carry special significance for Kipchoge because Dakar 2026 will become the first Olympic sporting event to take place on the African continent.
The Kenyan believes the occasion will leave a lasting impression on young people across Africa.
“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.”
He also expects the Games to provide an opportunity for young athletes from different parts of the world to interact beyond competition.
For Kipchoge, such exchanges can help participants gain a wider understanding of different societies and 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.”
Kipchoge to mentor Refugee Olympic Team
The Olympic champion has already started engaging with the young athletes who will represent the Refugee Olympic Team in Dakar.
During a mentoring session, he spoke to them about discipline, education, personal values and the qualities required to succeed both in sport and everyday 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.”
The Refugee Olympic Team will feature six young athletes at Dakar 2026, giving them an opportunity to compete internationally and demonstrate their sporting abilities.
Kipchoge sees sport as an important avenue through which refugee athletes can build their profiles and pursue new opportunities.
“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.”
The Games will ultimately give Kipchoge an opportunity to engage with athletes from different countries while celebrating the growth of sport among Africa’s youth.
“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.
Dakar 2026 will run from October 31 to November 13, 2026, with approximately 2,700 athletes aged 17 and below expected to participate across the three host areas of Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly.