Fifteen-year-old Aliyah Makena may not have returned home with a medal, but her appearance at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games has given Kenyan fencing an important platform and the young athlete valuable lessons for the future.
Makena became the second Kenyan fencer to compete at an Olympic Games event, following Alexandra Ndolo, who made history at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The Mount Kenya Academy student represented Kenya in the women’s individual épée competition at the Dakar Expo Centre on Tuesday, November 10, where she finished 13th overall after progressing from the preliminary pool stage to the round of 16.
Having discovered fencing in Grade Nine less than two years ago, Makena arrived in Senegal with ambitions of making a statement and demonstrating that Kenya’s sporting potential extends beyond athletics.
Her campaign opened against Estonia’s Aleksandra Nikolajeva, where she suffered a 5-1 defeat. She subsequently lost 5-0 to Hungary’s Lotti Horvath, 5-2 to South Africa’s Nikita Venturas, 5-3 to Côte d’Ivoire’s Marie Kouassi, 5-0 to Ukraine’s Francesca Aina and 5-3 to Peru’s Astrid Bravo.
Despite losing her preliminary pool bouts, Makena secured qualification for the direct-elimination stage, advancing to the round of 16, where her campaign eventually came to an end.
Reflecting on her experience, the teenager admitted that the group stage was particularly challenging, given the unfamiliar opponents and techniques she encountered.
“The group stage was tough. Seeing opponents that I’ve never fenced, although I fenced a couple, most of them were quite new to me. Some techniques I wasn’t ready for,” Makena said.
She was, however, pleased to have made it to the round of 16, describing the elimination bout as another difficult test against a formidable opponent.
Despite the disappointment of exiting the competition, Makena believes she achieved an important objective by putting Kenya on the international fencing map.
“I have accomplished my goal of making a statement outside because I feel like now they know, okay, now there’s Kenya, Kenya does fencing. It’s not only seniors, there are people coming,” she said.
For a teenager who only discovered the sport less than two years ago, competing at the Youth Olympic Games represents an achievement she is still trying to absorb.
“If you had told me two years ago that I would be fencing, going to competitions outside and making it to the Olympics one day, I would have looked at you and called you a liar. But here we are,” she said.
Makena believes her participation can inspire more young Kenyans to take up fencing and encourage the next generation to embrace the sport with greater ambition.
She also hopes the experience will help build a stronger Kenyan presence in international fencing, similar to the country’s established reputation in athletics.
Her coach, Georgina Mukami, believes the competition has provided important lessons, particularly on the need to expose Kenyan fencers to more regular international competition.
Mukami identified consistency in training and frequent competitive opportunities as key areas that need improvement to help athletes become more comfortable when competing against international opposition.
“The biggest lesson I’m taking from here would be consistency and how consistent we do our practice and how often we do our competition, so that our athletes back at home get used to competing and they’re not surprised or get tense when they come to the stage,” Mukami said.
The coach also called for greater investment in technical development through benchmarking opportunities and the introduction of experienced international coaches to strengthen the capacity of local trainers, many of whom currently hold Level One coaching qualifications.
Equipment is another major concern facing the sport.
Mukami pointed to the lack of an aluminium piste in Kenya, explaining that the absence of the specialised fencing surface means athletes have to make adjustments when they arrive at competition venues.
“Instead of our fencers coming to the field ready, they come to adjust, which is not such a good thing,” she said.
She believes improved access to equipment, stronger coaching structures and more regular competition would help Kenyan fencers become better prepared for the demands of international events.
Makena’s journey began with a school introduction to fencing, before progressing to international competitions, including the African Games and African Fencing Championships.
Her appearance in Dakar is another milestone in Kenya’s gradual development of the discipline, following Ndolo’s historic participation at Paris 2024.
For Makena, however, the journey is only beginning. She hopes the experience will encourage more young athletes to discover fencing and help Kenya build a competitive team capable of earning recognition on the international stage.
“I’m proud to be a part of this step,” she said.
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