From herding cattle to Dakar Olympics
The 16-year-old from Kajiado, who trained barefoot at school, races the 800m at Dakar 2026 with his coach aiming for 1:45 to 1:46.
In short: David Sekento, 16, from Kajiado County, won 1,500m silver at the 2026 World U20 Championships in Eugene and races the 800m at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, where the boys' 800m final is on Tuesday 10 November. His best is 1:50.21 and his coach is targeting 1:45 to 1:46.
Three years ago David Sekento was a village boy in Kajiado County, combining school with herding his father's cattle and training barefoot. This week the 16-year-old lines up in the 800m at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games as one of Kenya's best hopes in athletics, the sport that has produced all 15 of Kenya's Youth Olympic medals.
Sekento, who is named David Kapaiko in an allAfrica feature by Bird Story Agency, won 1,500m silver at the 2026 World U20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon, after winning 1,500m gold at the 2025 Africa School Games and Africa Youth Games. World Athletics lists his bests as 3:38.32 for 1,500m and 1:50.21 for 800m.
Barefoot at school, 71 kilometres from camp
His break came when coach Edcain Mutua saw him win race after race at a school meeting and asked his parents to let him coach him. Mutua enrolled him at his Emali Athletics Camp, 71 kilometres from home, and later moved him to a school near the camp so he no longer had to walk 17 kilometres to classes.
Sekento received a KSh 1.5 million government reward for his World U20 silver. He told Bird Story Agency the money has let him restock his father's herd, which drought had wiped out, and start building a house for his parents.
Chasing 1:45 in Dakar
Mutua says the target in Dakar is between 1:45 and 1:46, about five seconds faster than Sekento's best. The pair have trained three times a day in the sun and at altitude, and Sekento has studied clips of David Rudisha's 800m world record at the London 2012 Olympics to learn how to pace the race.
On the provisional timetable, the boys' 800m final is on Tuesday 10 November at 15:15 Kenya time. Follow every Kenyan result, the medal table and the Games calendar on our Dakar 2026 page.
