China's changquan champion Lin Yilei and Canada's taijiquan athlete Miranda Wei have been named flag bearers for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games opening ceremony, days before wushu's Olympic debut on 1 November.

Wushu will have a visible presence at the opening ceremony of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games before a single routine is performed. Two of the sport's young athletes, Lin Yilei of China and Miranda Wei of Canada, have been named flag bearers for their national teams.

China picks a changquan champion

The Chinese sports delegation announced on Friday, 30 October, that 15-year-old wushu athlete Lin Yilei will lead the team into the ceremony alongside swimmer Chang Mohan, also 15. Chang won silver in the women's 200m butterfly at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games in September.

Lin, from Ruian in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, started training at the age of six and came through the Ruian and Wenzhou sports schools before joining the Zhejiang provincial wushu team in 2024. He won the boys' Group B changquan title at the 2025 Asian Junior Wushu Championships and the boys' changquan title in his age group at the 2026 World Junior Wushu Championships. In Dakar he will compete in the men's changquan combined event.

China is sending 66 athletes across 21 sports to the Games.

Canada chooses a taijiquan athlete

Earlier in the week, the Canadian Olympic Committee named Miranda Wei of Calgary as one of its two flag bearers, together with rugby sevens player Adam Burnett. Wei, who turns 17 just before the ceremony, will compete in the women's taijiquan combined event. She began wushu at the age of four and won two gold medals and a bronze at the 2026 World Taijiquan Championships.

Reacting to her selection, Wei described carrying the flag as "a longtime dream of mine."

Competition starts on 1 November

The Youth Olympic Games run from 31 October to 13 November in Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly, the first Olympic event ever held in Africa. Wushu makes its debut as an official Olympic programme sport, with 48 athletes competing for four sets of medals in changquan and taijiquan at the Dakar Expo Centre from 1 to 3 November. Preliminary rounds take place on 1 and 2 November, with the finals on 3 November.

Sources: Xinhua / China Daily, CCTV News, Canadian Olympic Committee, IWUF.

Photo: IWUF

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