Kenya’s Lionesses secured the gold medal at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, defeating Australia 17–12 in the women’s rugby sevens final.
The young Kenyan squad demonstrated great resilience on Tuesday evening at the Stade Iba Mar Diop in Dakar, overcoming an Australian team that had previously defeated them 17–5 during the group stage.
The final was a hard-fought encounter. Australia struck first, but Kenya equalized through captain Zain Hido, leaving the score level at 5–5 at halftime.
After halftime, Australia regained the lead, advancing to a 12–5 score with a converted try.
Kenya responded when Josephine Kerubo scored their second try, and Diana Wanjiku’s conversion tied the game at 12–12, leading to extra time.
In a thrilling conclusion, the Kenyan team clinched their first gold medal at the 4th edition of the games, which are being held in Africa for the first time, by scoring a sudden-death try.
The Rising Lionesses began their campaign with a 12–5 win over China, followed by a decisive 19–0 victory against the host nation, Senegal.
Although they faced a 17–5 loss to Australia in their final pool match, the Kenyans bounced back to defeat Madagascar 15–5 in the semi-finals.
