Marathon legend Eliud Kipchoge is using his experience as a two-time Olympic marathon champion to inspire six refugee athletes preparing to make history at the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal.Download our Mozzart Sport app for more newsKipchoge, who serves as a World Athletics Refugee Athletes mentor, has been working with the youngsters during their preparations at Complete Sports in Kaptagat, Uasin Gishu County, where they have spent weeks training ahead of their first Olympic experience.For Kipchoge, his role extends beyond helping the athletes prepare physically. He wants them to look beyond their status as refugees and recognise their potential to compete on an equal footing with athletes from around the world.Krop, Kemboi falter as Ingebrigtsen kicks to Ultimate Championship 5000m title“It feels good to be associated with the refugees, and above all is to change their minds to know how to believe and treat themselves as refugees. That is my happiness. If I succeed in changing their minds to believe in themselves, and know that they have the same capability as other athletes from other countries. That is why I am here,” he said.The six athletes, Rashid Rechene, Florence Masimbi, Clement Niyomuhoza, Nyataba Kuek, Lourance Namukiza and Arno Yfunga, will compete in athletics, judo and taekwondo in Dakar.##NAJAVA_MECA_9952575##Their participation will be historic, with the Games, scheduled for Saturday, 31 October to Friday, 13 November, marking the first Youth Olympic Games to be hosted on African soil and the first edition in which a refugee team will compete.The athletes who were selected from Kenya and Uganda have been using the Kaptagat camp not only to sharpen their physical preparation but also to develop friendships and team cohesion.They come from different backgrounds and, having experienced displacement, the athletes have had the opportunity to prepare together for the demands of competing under the refugee team banner.Kenyan youngster athlete signs professional deal with Swiss sports brandKipchoge believes their appearance in Dakar represents an important step for refugees in sport and is proud to be associated with what he describes as change.“I am happy that these Dakar Youth Olympics will be the first Olympics where the whole refugee team will be participating, so it is a plus, and I am happy to be associated with change,” he said.The athletes are now fired up after their intensive preparations and will look to carry the lessons from Kaptagat to Senegal, where they will compete alongside young athletes representing their respective countries.##NAJAVA_MECA_9952581##Their journey has been supported by the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Refuge Foundation, alongside the National Olympic Committees of Kenya and Uganda, World Athletics, Athletics Kenya, UNHCR, and the national judo and taekwondo federations.Their participation comes against the backdrop of a global displacement crisis, with UNHCR estimating that more than 117 million people are currently forcibly displaced worldwide.