By Hassan Wekesa - Editor
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27 October 2026 - When young boxers step into the ring at the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, Somalia and Kenya will have one thing in common.
Somalia pins its hopes of a medal in the male category on 17-year-old Hassan Anwar Mohamed, while Kenya banks on Ellah Edemesi, a promising 16-year-old, in the female category.
The only difference is how the two started boxing. Hassan says he was motivated from the very beginning, while Edemesi was not initially obsessed with the sport.
Hassan Anwar Mohamed of Somalia
Hassan’s coach, Mohamed Ahmed Abdullahi, says his boxer is ready for the competition.
“We will show people who we are,” he said as he trained the younger boxer at Mecca Gym, located at Eastleigh's 4th Street in Nairobi.
The draw for the Dakar bouts has not yet been released, so Hassan’s opponents will be known soon. Mohamed holds 1-Star certificates from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Boxing Association (IBA) and World Athletics, and he still boxes himself. He said Hassan has trained at camps in Somalia, Sierra Leone and Kenya.
“We are very happy to be here in Nairobi. We enjoy the conducive climate here,” he said.
Asked whether there were opponents from specific countries the Somali boxer would wish to avoid in the early stages, the coach said no boxer worth their salt would have such an attitude.
“Our player is ready to battle it out with his opponents,” he said.
Somali Boxing Association President Awil Gele Ahmed said the country’s boxing has continued to grow since 2018, although sponsorship has not been as expected.
“Many corporates are still reluctant to support boxing in our country,” Awil said.
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He added that Hassan’s role model is former British featherweight world champion Prince Naseem Hamed. Hassan, who competes in the 50kg category, is very excited to represent his country in boxing as he prepares to leave for Dakar. The Games kick off on 31 October 2026.
Hassan together with his managers is expected to leave for Senegal on Wednesday.
The intense training including shadow boxing and spurring, have helped him fine-tune techniques.
With the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games also coming up, Somalia Boxing Association President said the qualifiers are coming up in January 2027 and that home boxers are ready.
Ellah Edemesi of Kenya
Edemesi says that whenever she steps into the ring, two fighters occupy a special place in her mind. The first is Kenya’s Veronica Mbithe of the Kenya Defence Forces, whose unique boxing style captivates her. The second is American professional boxer Claressa Shields, whom Edemesi admires not only for her ability in the ring but also for the difficult journey she overcame to reach the top.
Shields’ story resonates with her. Shields started boxing young, persevered through hardship and, at a time when few girls were involved in the sport, found a way to pursue her dream. For Edemesi, that resilience is a reminder that obstacles do not have to define her future. Together, the two role models inspire the teenager as she heads towards her ambitious destination, the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar.
Her own journey into boxing, however, was not born from an early obsession with the sport. It began almost by accident.
Edemesi, a student at Shadrack Kimalel Senior School in Nairobi, started boxing in 2024 after repeatedly watching her younger brother, Ramsey Wakhu. Ramsey, 14, was already a boxer, and his bouts gradually sparked her curiosity.
“At first, I just went to watch my brother’s boxing bouts so as to pass time,” Edemesi said.