Wushu to Debut as Medal Sport at 2026 Dakar Youth Olympics

Wushu, the traditional Chinese martial art, will make its historic debut as an official medal sport at the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Senegal, marking the first time the discipline has been included as a full medal event in any Olympic-level competition. The announcement was confirmed by International Wushu Federation (IWUF) Secretary-General Zhang Yuping during an interview with Xinhua News Agency on May 23, 2026, at the Oceania International Wushu Invitational Tournament in Brisbane, Australia.

A Milestone Decades in the Making

The inclusion of wushu in the Dakar 2026 YOG represents the culmination of a journey spanning more than three decades. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) first approved wushu’s inclusion on January 8, 2020, originally for the Dakar 2022 YOG, which was subsequently postponed to 2026 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision followed years of advocacy by the IWUF, which was founded on October 3, 1990, and received official IOC recognition in 2002.

According to the IWUF, the wushu competition will take place from November 1-3, 2026, at the Dakar Exhibition Centre in Diamniadio, Senegal. A total of 48 athletes — 24 men and 24 women — from around the world will compete across four medal events: Men’s Changquan All-Around, Women’s Changquan All-Around, Men’s Taijiquan All-Around, and Women’s Taijiquan All-Around.

Wushu as a Global Sport

“Wushu will debut on the Olympic stage as an official competition event at the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games,” Zhang Yuping told Xinhua. “This is the international community’s recognition of wushu as a sport and culture, and the inevitable result of wushu’s international development.” She emphasized that while wushu originated in China, “it has long become a global sport.”

The IWUF now counts 162 member associations across five continents, and wushu has been included in other major multi-sport events including the World Games, the World University Games, and the African Youth Games. The sport also celebrated a landmark moment in March 2025 when UNESCO established March 21 as International Taijiquan Day.

Yu Zaiqing, an IOC Honorary Member and former IWUF President who played a key role in wushu’s Olympic journey, noted that the wushu tournament held during the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games demonstrated the sport’s potential to the IOC. “The wushu tournament held during the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games showed the IOC that wushu had the strength to take the global stage,” he said, “and this laid the foundation for wushu’s selection as an official sport at the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games.”

Preparations and Innovation

Zhang Yuping confirmed that the IWUF is working methodically on preparations for the competition. “Before the Youth Olympics, we want to raise the level of youth wushu globally a bit more,” she said. The federation has invested in training camps and coaching programs across all continents, with particular focus on developing wushu in Africa and Oceania.

The Oceania International Wushu Invitational Tournament, held May 22-23 in Brisbane, attracted more than 180 athletes from 11 countries, marking the first time such a large-scale international wushu event has been held in the region. “This tournament can further expand wushu’s influence in Oceania,” Zhang noted.

Looking ahead, the IWUF is also exploring technological innovation in the sport. An AI-assisted judging system, or “i-Judging,” is under development for the Dakar 2026 competition, building on preliminary progress already achieved. Zhang highlighted that the IWUF aims to “use high-tech to empower wushu’s development, such as using artificial intelligence and data analysis to assist training and competition judging.”

The Road Ahead

While the Dakar 2026 YOG represents a historic breakthrough, Zhang made clear that the IWUF’s ambitions extend further. “We will continue to promote wushu’s inclusion in the Summer Olympic Games,” she said. “But that is not our only goal. We develop wushu for two goals: first, to enable wushu to reach the highest competitive stage, and second, to benefit more people, making them healthier and happier.”

The Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, running from October 31 to November 13, will be the first Olympic event ever held on the African continent, featuring 25 sports with approximately 2,700 athletes. For wushu, the event represents not just a competition but a platform to share the Eastern philosophy it embodies. As Zhang put it: “The Eastern wisdom of harmony, health, and sharing that wushu advocates are also the concepts we wish to convey to the world.”