Beach volleyball player Thomas Turner, 17, of Nambour on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, has been named an Australian Team flagbearer for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, Volleyball Australia confirmed this week.
Turner shares the honour with coastal rower Camilla "Millie" Griffin of the Australian Capital Territory. The pair were announced by Australian Youth Olympic Team Chef de Mission Ken Wallace at the team's official reception.
"Both Millie and Thomas are amazing at their sports, but they are also really good people," Wallace said.
The Australian Youth Olympic Team, 41 athletes competing across 16 sports, departed for Dakar, Senegal, on October 25 after a two-day camp at Runaway Bay, Queensland. The Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games run from October 31 to November 13 and are the first Olympic event held on the African continent.
Turner, who attends Burnside State High School, will compete in beach volleyball alongside his Youth Olympic partner, Ryan Edgar, also of Queensland. The pair won silver at the U18 World Championships.
"I was taken aback. I just couldn't believe it. I was lost for words," Turner said of his selection as flagbearer.
"To be able to represent all those people at the Opening Ceremony is unreal," he said.
Volleyball Australia chief executive Andrew Dee said the honour was a fitting start to Turner's Olympic career.
"It is an honour to carry the flag for your country, and one I know that Thomas will not take lightly," Dee said.
"This recognition is the perfect start to Thomas' Olympic journey, and we wish him and Ryan Edgar the best of luck for their Youth Olympic campaign," he said.
Wallace, the 2008 Olympic canoe/kayak sprint champion and a three-time Olympian, said the flagbearer announcement left a strong impression on the young squad.
"I know that our athletes thought they were in trouble when they first came into the room and they had a room of all these Olympians standing there," Wallace said.
"Pulling on the green and gold to compete at the Youth Olympics is a huge honour, and it's a moment these young Australians will carry with them for the rest of their lives," he said.
The Australian Team comprises 41 athletes aged 17 and under, 29 of them female and 12 male. Queensland and New South Wales each supplied 14 athletes, followed by six from Victoria, four from Western Australia, and one each from Tasmania, South Australia and the ACT.
Previous Youth Olympic Games competitors include Jess Fox, Emma McKeon, Kyle Chalmers and Kaylee McKeown.
Senegal is set to become the first African nation to host an official Olympic event. The Dakar 2026 Games are the fourth edition of the Summer Youth Olympic Games.
The Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be broadcast live on 9Now and 9Go, with daily highlights shown on the same channels through to the Games' conclusion on November 13.