Greece has its first gold medal at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games. Nikolas Papatheodorou won the men's 50m backstrok...

Greece has its first gold medal at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games. Nikolas Papatheodorou won the men's 50m backstroke in Senegal, touching the wall in 25.69 seconds to share the top spot with Portugal's Miguel Reis Oliveira, with both swimmers awarded joint gold. Belgium's Billey took bronze in 25.91. The win capped a remarkable five-day run for Papatheodorou at these Games. He had already claimed silver in the 100m backstroke and bronze in the 200m backstroke, bringing his personal medal count to three across the backstroke events before adding the gold. His 50m victory was Greece's fourth medal of the Games overall, with all four coming from the pool. Fellow Greek swimmer Eirini Zervou also reached the podium earlier in the competition. The medal ceremony was conducted by Spyros Capralos, IOC member and president of the Hellenic Olympic Committee. Papatheodorou left no doubt about how much the moment meant to him. He said he had promised himself he would win in this event, and he delivered exactly that, calling it very important and saying he was extremely happy with the result. #Greece #Dakar2026 #YouthOlympics