Samsung Electronics hosted a mentoring session for young competitors at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal on November 3, focusing on personal growth and life after elite sport.
The Youth Olympic Games Dakar 2026 run from October 31 to November 13, bringing approximately 2,700 athletes across 25 sports to the first Olympic event held on the African continent, news.samsung.com reported. Samsung, a Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partner since the Singapore 2010 inaugural edition, deployed Galaxy technology for broadcast integrations, Victory Selfies, and the Samsung Open Station inside the Youth Olympic Village.
The session, titled “Beyond the Medal: Your Journey Shapes What Comes Next,” brought three former Olympians together with 28 athletes from 12 countries. Lefa Makgato, CSR Manager at Samsung Electronics Africa, moderated the discussion.
Senegalese canoe slalom Olympian Jean-Pierre Bourhis, Ugandan swimmer Jamila Lunkuse, and New Zealand tennis bronze medallist Marcus Daniell shared insights from their sporting careers. Bourhis traced his inspiration to 2008, when Togo’s Benjamin Boukpeti secured a kayaking bronze at the Beijing Olympics.
As a kid, I realised an African paddler could reach the podium. Rio 2016 showed me that the way could be opened. Now my job is to keep it open for others.
Lunkuse noted that her swimming career began through friendship rather than medal ambitions. Daniell pointed to his decision to commit fully to tennis at age 14 after abandoning football.
The mentors addressed structural hurdles in their athletic paths. Bourhis constructed his training base in France due to a lack of whitewater facilities in Senegal, balancing training sessions with a full-time job as an electric vehicle repair engineer.
As an engineer, I see a limit as a problem to solve, not a wall. I train before work, during lunch or late at night. What keeps me going is purpose.
Lunkuse discussed managing performance anxiety ahead of Rio 2016. She stated that strict focus on qualifying times eroded her enjoyment of the sport until she took a break.
Daniell managed a two-year absence following a 2022 knee injury. He emphasized that persistence relies on maintaining broader objectives outside of athletic competition.
The conversation shifted toward post-competition careers and community impact. Bourhis is developing a canoeing ecosystem in Senegal by manufacturing canoes locally to reduce costs and generate employment.
Results do not define your value.
Lunkuse currently serves as a youth coach and World Aquatics Athletes’ Committee member. Daniell founded High Impact Athletes, a non-profit connecting competitors with charitable causes, and sits on the IOC Athletes’ Commission.
Makgato concluded the session by recounting her introduction to computing at age 18 via a Samsung Solar Powered Internet School in a South African township. She now oversees continental CSR initiatives, including Solve for Tomorrow.
