Meet the Team Heading to Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games

Beach volleyball partners Ryan Edgar (QLD) and Thomas Turner (QLD) head to the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games as reigning Australian U18 champions and the first Australian men to claim silver at a U18 Beach Volleyball World Championships.

The Queensland teenagers have played together for more than two years, going undefeated to win the inaugural Asian U18 Championships in Tashkent before taking that historic silver at the World Championships in The Hague.

“Being selected to represent Australia at the Youth Olympic Games is an incredible feeling and something I’m really proud of. It’s been a goal of mine for a long time, so knowing all the hard work and training has paid off is pretty special,” said Turner.

For Edgar, Dakar is a leap into the unfamiliar.

“I’m definitely most excited about the exploration of the unknown. This junior Olympic stage will be something completely different from any tournament we’ve experienced before, particularly competing in a country so foreign and different from the coastal Australia we’re used to,” said Edgar.

Edgar and Turner are due to compete in the men’s beach volleyball tournament in Dakar from 31 October (local time).