PH’s Wangkay cops bronze in Dakar Youth Olympic Games

Handout photo/POC Media.Pi Durden Wangkay clinched bronze for the Philippines in the Dakar Youth Olympic Games, giving the country its second medal in the 2026 edition.

The 17-year-old finished third in the men’s 200m final held at the Complexe Iba Mar Diop Stadium in Senegal early Wednesday morning, Philippine time.

Wangkay was in contention for the silver medal but fell short by the slimmest of margins, finishing just behind Guyana’s Deuquan’ Farrell.

Both athletes clocked 21.36 seconds, but Farrell’s photo-finish time of .355 edged Wangkay’s .359 by just 0.004 seconds.

“Never [ko in-expect na mag-medal]. Nakita ko palang sa oras, medyo dikit lahat. Dogfight mismo ‘yung ginawa namin kanina,” Wangkay told POC Media after the race.

“So to get third, almost getting second, masaya na po ako,” he added.

(I never expected to win a medal. When I saw the times, I knew it was going to be a close race. It was a dogfight. So to finish third, almost getting second, I’m already happy.)

Wangkay qualified for the men’s 200m final after placing third in his semifinal and fifth overall with a season-best time of 21.96 seconds.

“Nasa lane nine po ako eh, so I was running blind. Never ako naging used to [running] blind. Pero I had to do which is what the best do, which is move forward,” he shared.

(I was in lane nine, so I was running blind. I’m not used to running blind, but I had to do what the best do, which is move forward.)

Zimbabwe’s Ropafadzo Mzondo won gold in 21.04 seconds, missing his personal best of 21.02 seconds, which he recorded in the semifinals.

Despite narrowly missing out on silver, Wangkay secured a podium finish while recording a new personal best and setting new national records in the U18 and U20 categories.

He also made history as the first Filipino male athlete to win an athletics medal at the Youth Olympic Games.

The bronze adds to Wangkay’s growing collection of international honors, following his gold medal in the boys’ 200m at the 2025 Asian Youth Games in Bahrain and his two gold medals at the 2025 Palarong Pambansa in Ilocos Norte.

Wangkay’s podium finish came just a day after Naomi Cesar captured a historic silver medal in the women’s 800m event.

With two days remaining before the multi-sport event concludes, the Philippines has two medals, both coming from athletics.

The fourth edition of the Youth Olympic Games will run until November 13 in Dakar, Senegal.