The Refugee Olympic Team’s Rachid Rochene and Florence Masumbe brought their 200m campaigns to a positive conclusion at the Dakar 2026 Summer Youth Olympic Games, with both Uganda-based teenage sprinters recording Personal Bests in their respective semifinals.
Competing at the Complexe Iba Mar Diop on Tuesday, 10 November, the two athletes may not have secured places in the finals, but they had something worthwhile to celebrate, each producing their fastest times over the distance.
In the men’s 200m second semifinal, Rochene clocked a personal best of 24.32 seconds to finish seventh in his heat. The 16-year-old, born on 1 January 2010, competed in lane three and improved his personal record in a race that was won by Guyana’s Deuquan Farrell in 21.61 seconds.
Farrell led the field to secure automatic qualification for the final, finishing ahead of Hungary’s Aron Horvath, who clocked 21.90 seconds. The Philippines’ Pi Durden Forward Wangkay came third in 21.96 seconds, while Côte d’Ivoire’s Silvestre Wilfried Yapo completed the top four in 22.15 seconds.
Taiwan’s Chao-Feng Chu also secured qualification as the fastest athlete outside the top four, clocking a season-best 22.36 seconds. Cape Verde’s Lucas Delgado finished sixth in 23.47 seconds, while Rochene completed the field in seventh.
The women’s 200m first semifinal offered a similar story for Masumbe, who also walked away with a Personal Best despite finishing seventh.
Running in lane eight, the 17-year-old clocked 29.54 seconds, improving her previous best in a competitive heat won by Antigua and Barbuda’s Tyra Fenton in 23.63 seconds.
Fenton delivered the fastest performance in the semifinal, finishing ahead of Gambia’s Haddy Jarju, who recorded a personal best of 24.07 seconds. Costa Rica’s Rihana Mora followed in 24.29 seconds, while Italy’s Giorgia Castiglione completed the automatic qualifying positions in 25.40 seconds.
Madagascar’s Laura Jauslin and Syria’s Jana Mhalla finished fifth and sixth respectively, both recording personal bests of 27.46 and 28.94 seconds. Masumbe followed in seventh, while Mysha Cain of Nauru did not start.
Although neither Rochene nor Masumbe progressed to the final, their performances provided a positive closing chapter to their 200m participation.
For the two teenagers who are based in Uganda, the Personal Bests were a fitting way to conclude their sprint campaigns in Dakar, underlining the value of international exposure and the experience of testing themselves against some of the world’s promising young athletes.