18 athletes, eight medals: Kazakhstan sums up 2026 Summer Youth Olympics results

Eighteen young athletes in 11 sports represented Kazakhstan at the Dakar 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games. It was not the largest delegation the country has sent to a Summer Youth Olympics, but in terms of quality, the Dakar performance matched the Kazakh team's results at previous Games.

At the inaugural 2010 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, Kazakhstan sent 47 athletes in 17 sports and won six medals (two gold, two silver, two bronze) across three disciplines, placing 24th overall. An additional gold claimed by judoka Kairat Agibayev as part of the mixed-NOC Essen team did not count toward the national total.

Four years later in Nanjing, China, a 51-member Kazakh squad competing in 17 sports pocketed three gold, one silver and four bronze medals in five sports, finishing 21st overall.

Kazakhstan's best historical result was at the Buenos Aires 2018 Games. 58 athletes competed across 20 sports. The team won 10 medals — four gold, three silver and three bronze — across five sports, finishing 14th overall. Two medals were excluded from the national tally: gymnast Roza Abitova’s silver in the mixed multi-discipline event and judoka Bekarys Saduakas’s bronze in the mixed team competition.

At the 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, every medal claimed counted directly toward the national tally, as mixed international team events were dropped from the program for the first time.

Kazakhstan finished 22nd in the overall medal standings at the Dakar Youth Olympics, winning eight medals — two gold, three silver, and three bronze — with its smallest-ever delegation.

Gold medals went to established youth sport leaders. Judoka Fatima Supygaliyeva from the West Kazakhstan region, a cadet world champion in the women's 52 kg division, won gold in Dakar. Cyclist Anel Tashbay of the Almaty region, who swept major Asian junior titles in the 2025–2026 season, secured her first global title with a gold medal in Senegal.

All three Kazakh boxers who qualified for the Games returned with medals. Aknur Tursyngali (women's 57 kg) and Bibarys Ashirbay (men's 70 kg) won silver, while Maral Tolepbergen (women's 54 kg) claimed bronze. Triathlete Ramazan Ainegov and taekwondo athlete Lyubov Yun (women's +63 kg) secured bronze medals. On the final day of competition, sabre fencer Aibar Kaiym of Almaty captured Kazakhstan's third silver.

The Dakar results underscored the competitive depth of Kazakhstan's next generation of summer sports athletes on the international stage.