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Singapore's Tabitha Yeo finished fourth at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games on 9 Nov. Photo: OIS/ Remi Vallat
Tabitha Yeo was back on the field practising her shots shortly after losing the bronze medal match in the women’s archery event at the Youth Olympic Games on 9 Nov. Despite still hurting from narrowly missing out on a medal, the 17-year-old quickly sought to take steps that would benefit her sporting journey in the long run.
“First reason is, I need to cool down. In the end, it’s still a competition and my muscles were still tense (from) the medal match. Longevity in the sport, you know, I need to cool down, make sure I don’t get injured,” said Yeo, who lost 4-6 to fourth seed Sandra Perez Cumbreras of Spain in the bronze medal match.
“The second reason is I wanted to check if there was anything wrong with my form that I could pick up on my own before I rewatch the recordings of my match, so that I can learn the feeling and fix it faster next time.”
Archer Tabitha Yeo narrowly missed out on a medal at the Youth Olympic Games on 9 Nov. Photo: OIS/ Will Palmer
Earlier at the Abdoulaye Wade Stadium, she came from behind to win the 1/8 elimination round after a shoot-off with Maya Casas Lara of Mexico. The seventh seed then eased past Egyptian Nouray Elsayed 6-0 in the quarter-finals, and forced another shoot-off in her semi-final match against sixth-seeded American Whang Ye-Eun. The bronze medal match was her fourth match of the day, and both athletes were tied from the start before the Spaniard edged ahead in the fifth and final set for victory.
“It’s disappointing, but it is what it is. This is archery. I’m really tired but I’m still happy I left everything I had on the shooting line,” said Yeo, adding that she has no regrets. “I came in to the semi-finals as the lowest-ranked; I probably wasn’t expected to make it that far but I did it. I fought till the end, I fought to the last arrow.
“I’ve learnt that I’m a lot stronger than I actually think, and I’m going to bring that with me to every competition from now till forever.”
In athletics, national Under-20 record holder Daryen Ko finished fourth in his 400m hurdles semi-final to qualify for the final on 10 Nov. His time of 52.87s ranked him fifth overall at the Iba Mar Diop Stadium.
Running in Lane 4, the Singaporean was flanked by Jaeden Campbell of Jamaica and Japan’s Noriyuki Takano on either side of him. Ko demonstrated incredible discipline to focus on his own lane and keep to his race plan, creeping up from sixth place to close the gap and secure the qualification.
Singapore's Daryen Ko (far right) during the 400m hurdles semi-final at the Youth Olympic Games on 9 Nov. Photo: OIS/ Joel Marklund
“A lot goes on in my mind (during the race), more than you’d expect from someone who just runs and jumps. The amount of focus and discipline required to just look at your own lane, that’s what I keep wanting to inprove on each time,” said the 17-year-old.
“The strategy is always to clear the hurdle forward so I don’t lose any momentum. (Campbell and Takano) are so fast but I have to stick to my own plan and my own pacing because I know that if I went with them, I would have died at the end.”
Daryen Ko before the 400m hurdles semi-final at the Youth Olympic Games on 9 Nov. Photo: OIS/ Joel Marklund
Ko, whose personal best of 52.72s was clocked at the World U20 Athletics Championships in Oregon earlier this year, previously dabbled in fencing and basketball – he was teammates with compatriots Ashton Auw and Fred Leow, who are in Dakar competing in fencing and 3x3 basketball respectively.
Describing the 400m hurdles as his calling, he explained: “When my performance isn’t dependent on others, when it’s not dependent on me fencing (against) or beating someone, I really enjoy that. Because I know I can go back, put in the work and have a really strong sense of belief that I can come back and I’ll do better.”
Coming back and doing better is no doubt what he hopes to do in the final. Though he felt his semi-final timing “wasn’t fantastic”, Ko added: “I was able to have a very strong finish. So grateful to even be here in the first place, but to qualify for the final was a bonus that I could never expect to ask for. I’m just very thankful that I was able to finish this race healthy and I’ll be back stronger for the final.”
Fellow Singaporeans Kate Teo and Trevor Ng continued their campaigns in the sailing competition, with Races 4-6 of the windsurfing event taking place at Saly Beach. Teo ranked seventh with 35 points while Ng was 12th with 53 points. The event continues on 10 Nov with Races 7-9.
The Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games takes place from 31 October to 13 November 2026. For the latest Team Singapore coverage and news, follow Team Singapore on their social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) or visit the official Team Singapore website.
