Naomi Cesar made history for Philippine athletics after capturing the silver medal in the women’s 800-meter final at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal.
The Filipino standout clocked two minutes and 9.34 seconds to finish second, becoming the first Filipina athlete to win a medal at the Youth Olympic Games and delivering the country’s first-ever athletics podium finish in the competition.
Cesar saved her best for the closing stretch, sitting in fourth place with 100 meters remaining before unleashing a strong finishing kick to overtake two rivals and secure the silver medal.
Ethiopia’s Netsanet Selemon claimed the gold in 2:04.43, while Morocco’s Khadija Elmostaqim settled for bronze in 2:10.05.
Cesar’s silver is the Philippines’ second medal in Youth Olympic Games history, following Christian Tio’s silver in the boys’ Techno 293 sailing event at the 2018 edition in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The country also had a gold medalist in the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympic Games, where Luis Gabriel Moreno teamed up with China’s Li Jiaman to win the mixed international team event in archery. However, the medal was awarded to a Mixed-NOCs team and was not credited to either the Philippines or China.
Earlier in the competition, Cesar secured her place in the final after finishing third in her heat with a time of 2:20.16.
The young Filipina entered the medal race as one of the leading contenders based on personal-best times, carrying a national record of 2:06.24 that she established at the Portland Track Festival in Oregon last June.
The silver medal adds another milestone to Cesar’s young career after she became the youngest gold medalist in the women’s 800 meters at last year’s Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok.
