Wushu is about to cross a line it has been chasing for more than two decades. At the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, which open on October 31 as the first Olympic event ever held on African soil, wushu taolu will be contested as a full medal sport for the first time in Olympic history. The competition runs from November 1 to 3 at the Dakar Expo Center (DEX).

The road here has been long. The International Wushu Federation first applied for Olympic inclusion in 2001. Wushu appeared at the Beijing 2008 Wushu Tournament held alongside the Olympic Games and as an exhibition at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games, but medals were never at stake. The IOC confirmed wushu’s place on the Dakar programme in January 2020, and four Olympic champions will now be crowned.

48 athletes from 47 countries and regions will compete in four combined events: boys’ and girls’ changquan combined (changquan and gunshu) and boys’ and girls’ taijiquan combined (taijiquan and taijishan). The preliminary routines are scheduled for November 1 and 2, with the finals on November 3. The IWUF has also been developing its AI-assisted judging system, i-Judging, with these Games in mind.

The send-off began in Beijing on October 13, where a ceremony marked wushu’s Olympic debut. A commemorative scroll presented there will travel to Dakar, and every athlete competing will be invited to sign it.

The host nation has its own story to tell. Wushu has grown rapidly in Senegal in recent years, and Africa now counts 39 national federations within the IWUF. Senegalese athlete Woreye Ndiaye has spoken of his hope that Dakar will bring wushu to a far wider international audience.

Dakar is also a test. The IOC has said the sport will be evaluated at these Games with a view to possible inclusion in the senior Olympic programme, which means every routine performed in Senegal carries weight beyond the medal table.

EUWUSHU.TV will follow the wushu tournament in Dakar from the first routine to the last medal ceremony.