Kenya’s all-women coaching staff turned a squad full of wingers into a team that could come from behind to win Olympic gold. As Madagascar’s players balanced school and training to earn a historic bronze, both teams showed what it took to reach the rugby sevens podium.
Before heading to the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, every player on Kenya’s girls’ rugby sevens team wrote down what she wanted to achieve. They all had the same goal.
“Before heading to Dakar, every player had written down their goal and it was to win gold,” Kenya coach Knight Otuoma said in Dakar.
“In our first game, despite being a former player, I tensed, but they were so relaxed and this made everything easy.”
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The Rising Lionesses delivered on that ambition with a 17–12 extra-time win over Australia, one of the tournament favourites. They became the first African team to win rugby sevens gold at either the Olympic Games or the Youth Olympic Games. It was Kenya’s first medal in Dakar, the country’s first Olympic gold in a team sport and the first time a Kenyan rugby team had won gold at a major global championship.
The final was a nerve-wracking affair for Otuoma and her players. Darci Mackay opened the scoring for Australia before Kenya captain Zain Hido crossed the line to make it 5–5 at half-time. Grace Buchanan scored after the break, and Billie Backus converted to put Australia 12–5 ahead.
“When we were down in that final, I reminded everyone where most of us came from and the difficulties we have faced in our lives,” said captain Hido. “We did not need any motivation from the coach because we knew this could be a potentially life-changing moment.”
With time up, Josphine Kerubo crossed for Kenya and Diana Wanjiku added the conversion to level the score at 12–12 and force sudden death. Two minutes into extra time, Mitchelle Chemtai scored in the corner to seal a dramatic 17–12 victory.
“It is still hard to believe,” said Chemtai, who only took up rugby three years ago, when she joined high school. “This win made my parents emotional because they have seen my struggles. They never doubted me and I believe now, there is a chance to land further scholarships and contracts that could change our lives.”
Kenya opened their campaign with a 12–5 win over China, then beat hosts Senegal 19–0 to reach the semi-finals with a pool match to spare. They lost their final pool match 17–5 to Australia, then beat Madagascar 15–5 in the semi-finals to earn another shot at the Australians.
Getting the Rising Lionesses ready for Dakar meant finding out what each player could do beyond the position she usually played.
“Ninety per cent of those girls came in as wingers and as a coach, I had to identify other attributes and strength to see which other positions they could fit. We trained them until everything went well,” Otuoma said.
She said understanding her players’ backgrounds and working with an all-women coaching staff were just as important. The squad was made up of students aged 16 and 17. Many came from families with limited means and relied on rugby scholarships to stay in school.
Kenya went into camp in the second week of September. With nearly two months together before the Games, Otuoma wanted the players to feel comfortable asking for what they needed.
“As a female coach and having an all-female technical coaching team, they could share personal stuff like if they needed soap, sanitary pads, or if they wanted to eat something different, things they would ordinarily not share if it was a male coach,” she said.
Those conversations helped the team grow closer. Otuoma went a step further, handing out sticky notes every day so the players could raise anything they felt uncomfortable discussing in person.
“Most of the girls could not open up to me directly but they were comfortable writing down their issues. So every morning, I would read and address them,” said the former Kenya international.
Chemtai, whose try won Kenya gold, said the trust she and her teammates built with the coaching staff gave them confidence.
“It was so easy sharing our issues with the coach… she made us feel very important. That gave us confidence and we did not want to let her down,” said the 16-year-old.
Otuoma also discovered what some of her quietest players could do on the pitch.
“We have two shy girls who rarely talk but when they stepped onto the pitch, they were the fastest and the most fearless when tackling,” she said.
One of them was Elizabeth Naliaka. The 17-year-old came from Dakar, eager to finish school, play rugby professionally, and earn a place in Kenya’s senior team.
“I hope to make the senior team soon and help them qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics,” she said.
In Kenya, the men’s rugby teams get most of the funding and the biggest contracts while women lag behind but the triumphant Youth Olympics team feel they have earned the right for a change in fortunes.
“We want to be treated equally, if not better, because we are the first Kenyan team to win an Olympic gold medal,” affirmed Diana Wanjiku.
“If they invest in us fully, we will deliver more. Most of us are finishing high school soon and we do not want to get lost after that. There must be a structured pathway so that we make that transition to the senior team and help them qualify for the LA 2028 Olympics and World Cup.”
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Madagascar had a milestone of its own to celebrate. The team’s only defeat in Dakar came against Kenya in the semi-finals. They went on to beat Czechia 26–10 to win bronze, Madagascar’s first medal at either the Olympic Games or the Youth Olympic Games.
For Madagascar captain Tracy Ftiavananomenjanahary, 17, the bronze medal rewarded the time she and her teammates had put into rugby while keeping up with school.
“It is incredible,” said the 17-year-old. “This medal is for the country. We put in a lot of effort as we had to balance rugby training and our studies.”
“None of us came to Dakar thinking that we could win a medal. We grew in strength with every win and now back home, our families are happy,” stated Princia Ranaivoson.
At Nanjing 2014 and Buenos Aires 2018, the two previous editions to feature rugby sevens, Tunisia were Africa’s only representatives in the girls’ competition and finished sixth both times.
At the first Youth Olympic Games held on African soil, Kenya and Madagascar took two of the three places on the girls’ rugby sevens podium. Their results offered a glimpse of how the balance of power in the sport could shift as this generation moves into senior rugby.
