Naomi Cesar takes Youth Olympic silver in women’s 800m
The result in Dakar gave the Philippines its first medal at the 2026 Games and only its second-ever Youth Olympic Games medal.
Naomi Cesar of the Philippines clocked 2:09.34 to claim the women’s 800m silver at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal. The 17-year-old’s finish opened the country’s medal account at this edition of the competition.
Gold went to Ethiopia’s Netsanet Selemon, whose winning time of 2:04.43 was a personal best. Morocco’s Khadija Elmostaqim completed the podium with 2:10.05. Cesar had been running fourth at the 100-metre mark, then moved ahead of two rivals to take the runner-up position.
A semifinal time of 2:20.16 had earned Cesar a place in the final as the sixth-fastest qualifier. She also took gold over the same distance at the 2025 Southeast Asian Games.
The Philippines had won just one Youth Olympic Games medal before Cesar’s silver. That earlier medal was also silver, earned by Christian Tio in sailing at the 2018 Games in Argentina.
