Puerto Rico brings its flag to Senegal for the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games
By THE STAR STAFF
Esmeralda Butler and Steven Moreno Rivera carried the Puerto Rican flag on Saturday during the opening ceremony of the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games in Senegal, marking the first time Puerto Rico has participated in an Olympic event on the African continent.
“Seeing our flag in the hands of Esmeralda and Steven, accompanied by this new generation of athletes, is a moment of great pride for Puerto Rico,” said Sara Rosario Vélez, president of the Puerto Rican Olympic Committee, in a written statement. “Each of them has arrived here through hard work and a desire to represent our island with dignity. We want them to embrace this experience with excitement, compete with confidence, and return with lessons that will stay with them throughout their careers.”
Abdoulaye Wade Stadium, which holds 55,000 spectators, served as the venue for a celebration of Senegalese identity and African cultural diversity. The music, colors, and attire brought to life a welcome that reflected the Games’ motto: “Africa Welcomes, Dakar Celebrates.”
The ceremony was attended by the president of Senegal, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, and International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry. The 2026 Dakar Games bring together some 2,655 athletes, aged 14 to 17, representing 204 National Olympic Committees.
The Puerto Rican delegation includes 30 athletes competing across 11 sports. Butler, a skateboarder, arrives in Dakar after winning a gold medal at the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games in Santo Domingo. Moreno Rivera, a table tennis player, earned three medals at that same event and also served as Puerto Rico’s flag bearer at the 2025 Junior Pan American Games in Asunción.
Both join the group of athletes who have carried the Puerto Rican flag -- the “monoestrellada” -- at the opening ceremonies of the Youth Olympic Games: boxer Emmanuel Rodríguez in Singapore (2010), and table tennis players Brian Afanador in Nanjing (2014) and Adriana Díaz in Buenos Aires (2018).
