The Cuban team of Baseball5 was crowned youth Olympic champion this Tuesday by defeating Chinese Taipei 2-0 in sets in the final of the 2026 Dakar Youth Olympic Games, becoming the first country to win an Olympic gold medal in this discipline.
The final's scores, held at the Complexe Tour de l'Œuf in Diamniadio, Senegal, were 2-1 and 7-1 in favor of Cuba, marking a resounding revenge after the defeat suffered against the same rival in the group stage (3-5 and 4-5). This had been Cuba's first loss in its history in competitions organized by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC).
The WBSC celebrated the result on its social media: "In a historic final, Cuba defeated Chinese Taipei to become the first youth Olympic champion in Baseball5. They have earned a place in Olympic history with passion and determination."
The player Jean Carlos Machado Casado was one of the standout figures of the tournament, with eight hits in ten appearances during the final. After the match, he expressed: "I am very happy and proud to be one of the first Cuban gold medalists of the Youth Olympic Games."
Machado Casado attributed the success to rigorous preparation: "The team trained for four months and practiced daily under very high temperatures in Cuba," he added that "the medal represents a real sacrifice for me, my family, and all the team members."
Another historic milestone of the tournament was marked by the Cuban Jairon Medina, who scored the first-ever run in Olympic Baseball5 history in the opening match against Türkiye on October 30, when Cuba triumphed 2-0 with scores of 6-0 and 3-2.
On the road to gold, Cuba also crushed Senegal 2-0 with sets of 17-0 and 13-0, surpassed France in the quarterfinals, and eliminated Kenya 2-0 in the semifinals. Chinese Taipei, which took the silver, had defeated Mexico 2-1 in the other semifinal. The bronze went to Kenya.
Baseball5 made its debut in the Olympic program precisely in Dakar 2026, also becoming the first discipline to be contested in the Olympic Games held in Africa. The tournament brought together eight teams: Cuba, Chinese Taipei, Türkiye, Senegal, France, Mexico, Kenya, and the WBSC Refugee Team, representing Syria.
Cuba arrived in Senegal as the number one in the world, backed by a dominant track record: champion of the first absolute Baseball5 World Cup in Mexico City in 2022, the first Youth World Cup in Ankara in 2023, and the second absolute world title in Hong Kong in 2024.
Even the rival acknowledged Cuba's superiority: the player from Chinese Taipei, Tzu-Yi Hsu, attributed Cuba's victory to "their consistency, their defense, and their few mistakes."
Machado Casado summed up the experience with an image that goes beyond the score: "Living together in the Olympic Village was a beautiful experience, and the team learned to stay united during challenging times."
Related videos:
Filed under: