African sevens rugby has taken a colossal step forward at the 2026 Dakar Youth Summer Olympics, with two sides finishing on the podium following the conclusion of the rugby sevens women’s competition at Complexe Iba Mar Diop in Senegal.

Kenya capped off a colossal year in the short format, claiming gold the final in dramatic fashion with a golden-point try to stun Australia, winning 17-12.

The Rising Lionesses had to come from behind early, as Australian Darci Mackay and Grace Buchanan scored to put the Aussies ahead several times.

Watch all Rugby Sevens matches from the Dakar 2026 Summer Youth Olympic live and free here.

However, Zain Hido and Josephine Kerubo scored in reply, and with the Australians copping a yellow card and the scores level 12-all at full time, the match went to golden point.

The Australian continued to make mistakes, and with an attacking opportunity, Kenya managed to finally break the deadlock as Mitchelle Chemtai scored in the corner to hand her side a famous win in their history.

“When we saw we were 12-5 down, we had already given up,” Kenya captain Zain Hido said to OIS, taking in the magnitude of the victory.

“But our coach told us to remember what we came here to do. We just told ourselves, ‘Let’s have fun and do what we always do best – play rugby.’

“That gave us hope, and a little hope is better than nothing.

“Kenya is our home. Kenya is the only place we have and we were promised if we go back, our lives would change and we would be the best.

“As girls under 18, we have a life to live and this was the only chance we had to make our lives better. We are the first Kenya team to win an Olympic gold medal. It will give us scholarships, sponsorships.”

It was a disappointing end for the Australians, who came into the tournament as favourites to claim gold and who had topped Group A across the days beforehand, overcoming Czechia 19-10 in the semi final to qualify.

They’d also defeated Kenya 17-5 when the sides met in the pool stages, with a simple case of compounding errors at the death proving costly.

The historic results for African nations continued in the bronze medal match, as Madagascar, who topped Group B before losing to Kenya in the semi final, defeated Czechia 26-10 to claim the bronze medal, with Soa Landy, Princia Ranaivoson and Sariaka Raveloarisoa scoring.

It proved an historic result not just for the rapidly developing Madagascar rugby program, but for the nation at large – the bronze medal in Dakar being the first time the African nation has won an Olympic medal at any level.

“The match is a surprise for us, because no one dared to hope that we would be the winner,” Ranaivoson said to OIS after the match.

“But now we are on top of the world, and we are so happy.”

“It’s truly incredible,” echoed Madagascar head coach Dina Manandraibe.

“We hoped to reach the podium, but it’s incredible that it’s happening today. We have achieved our goal.

“There was a tremendous amount of effort and many sacrifices to get here, especially for the girls. Because the girls have worked very hard and they had to take time away from school. They have to adjust their school schedule, so that’s why it’s so difficult for them to prepare.

“We are satisfied with the work and with the fruits of our labour.”

In other results, China claimed fifth place with victory over the United States, while Spain overcame hosts Senegal to claim seventh, the hosts finishing in eighth.