Brancou Badio – Oumy Diop – Louis-François Mendy: Who are the three Senegalese athletes carrying the flame in Athens? September 10, 2026

Brancou Badio, the leader who opens the road to the flame

Leader on the floors, Brancou Badio was also, symbolically, on the path to the Olympic flame. This Thursday, September 10, at the legendary Panathenaic Stadium in Athens, the Senegalese basketball player had the honor of being one of the first Senegalese torchbearers of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games flame.

At 26, the man nicknamed “Papi” has established himself as one of the faces of Senegalese basketball. Born on February 17, 1999 in Rufisque, this 1.91 m leader today plays for Valencia Basket, in Liga ACB and in the EuroCup. He is also an executive of the Senegal national team. Its story begins in Rufisque, at the Saltigué club. Spotted very early, he joined the senior team at just 15 years old. Inspired by his older sister Marietou, also a basketball player, he quickly rose through the ranks thanks to his talent, work and discipline. In 2018, he was named revelation of his league.

His ambition then led him to Spain, to the Canarias Basketball Academy, where he continued his training with La Matanza in Liga EBA. In 2019, he joined FC Barcelona. With the reserve team, he averaged 13.4 points and 40% three-point success. A progression which opened the doors to the Liga ACB, where he made his debut in September 2020. In 2021, Badio joined Skyliners Frankfurt, in Germany. He then returned to Spain with Manresa in 2022, before signing up with Valencia Basket in 2024. He left Valencia for Panathinaîkós With the Lions, his rise continues. During AfroBasket 2021, he contributed to Senegal’s bronze medal with an average of 17.3 points and 5.5 assists. Creative, fast and combative, he established himself as one of the driving forces behind the selection.

From Rufisque to the major European venues, Brancou Badio has built, step by step, a journey which testifies to the vitality of Senegalese talent. In Athens, he is preparing to write a new page in this history by becoming one of the first Senegalese torchbearers of the Olympic flame. A strong symbol for someone whose job is precisely to lead the game.

Oumy Diop, a journey between sporting excellence, studies and Senegal

At 23, Oumy Diop has had a career as rich in the pools as on the university benches. Olympian athlete at Paris 2024, quadruple African champion, triple medalist at the African Islamic Games and double bronze medalist at the African Games, the Senegalese swimmer has also distinguished herself through her academic career in the United States.

Based in Miami since December 2021, she obtained a first bachelor’s degree at Florida International University (FIU) in 2025, in Liberal Studies, before obtaining a second bachelor’s degree in May 2026, in the field of English and Natural and Applied Sciences. A double success which illustrates his desire to build his future beyond sport. But behind the high-level athlete and the brilliant student, there is a young woman deeply attached to Senegal. Born and raised in France, Oumy Diop maintains a particularly strong bond with her country of origin. Every summer, she returns to Senegal to reunite with her family, particularly her grandmother, with whom she maintains a very important relationship. “Wolof was the first language I learned,” she explains. The language, regular stays in Senegal and family ties have thus nourished an attachment that goes far beyond the sporting framework. Even living in the United States, she says she looks for every opportunity to return to Senegal.

Ambassador of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games since 2024, Oumy Diop is now preparing to experience a particularly symbolic moment: she will be one of the Senegalese torchbearers of the Olympic flame at the Panathenaic stadium in Athens. This responsibility also takes on a particular dimension for a swimmer who is aware of the stereotypes that sometimes surround the presence of black people in swimming. “I try to break this stereotype,” she says, referring in particular to the visibility of a black woman on the podiums of major international competitions. For her, being there, performing and representing Senegal also helps change perceptions.

His sporting, academic and personal journey thus converges towards the same symbol: that of a Senegalese generation open to the world, but deeply attached to its roots. In Athens, by carrying the flame to Dakar, Oumy Diop will not only be an athlete. It will also be the link between an Olympic history born in Greece and the first Youth Olympic Games organized in Africa.

From Yeumbeul to the Panathenaic, Louis-François Mendy carries the flame

In Athens, Louis-François Mendy will not only be a spectator at the reception ceremony for the Olympic flame of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games. The Senegalese hurdler will have the honor of carrying the flame, in a moment full of symbolism, between the land where the Olympic ideal was born and Senegal, the first African country to host the YOG.

In the legendary enclosure of the Panathenaic stadium, Louis-François Mendy will wear a symbol that goes far beyond the sporting framework. The Senegalese torchbearer will be one of the faces of this historic ceremony which marks the passage of the Olympic flame from Athens to Dakar, a few weeks before the opening of the YOG Dakar 2026. “For me, it is an honor to represent Senegal for the Olympic flame. It is a privilege to attend this event and to participate in this great celebration around the Olympic flame,” confides the athlete, visibly marked by the significance of this meeting. The choice of Louis-François Mendy takes on a particular resonance. An experienced athlete, he is one of the representatives of the new generation of Senegalese sport. A specialist in the 110m hurdles, he participated in the Tokyo and Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where he reached the semi-finals. But before the major international events, its history was built far from the major Olympic venues.

Born in Yeumbeul, he started athletics in Guédiawaye at the age of eight. The beginnings are difficult. Between 2017 and 2019, he went through a complicated period, before experiencing a breakthrough at the African Junior Championships in Tlemcen, Algeria, in 2017. He won the silver medal there and became vice-African junior champion. “That’s when I told myself that I could be part of that world,” he says. This medal acts as a revealer. She gives him the conviction that he can go further. What followed were years of work, sacrifice and progression to the national team and the Olympic Games. Now based in Spain, where he has been working for two years with a new coach after the end of his collaboration with his previous coach, Louis-François Mendy continues his preparation with a clear objective: the next Olympic Games.

But before thinking about 2028, he is preparing to experience a moment that few athletes will have the opportunity to experience: carrying the Olympic flame in the very place where the modern Olympic tradition has taken on a universal dimension. For a few moments, his personal journey will meet the great history of the Olympic movement. From Guédiawaye to Athens, from the African junior championships to the Olympic Games, Louis-François Mendy will this Thursday be the relay of a flame called to continue its journey to Dakar.

Moussa DIOP, special envoy to Athens (Greece)