Hannah McHenry selected to the Australian Youth Olympic Team
The 4th Summer Youth Olympic Games take place in Dakar, Senegal from October 31, with Australia represented by 41 athletes from 16 sports – among them, as the sole representative for Judo, will be 17-year-old Hannah McHenry.
Originally from Perth, Hannah now lives in Melbourne and trains with Daniel Kelly and Emilien Freund at Resilience Training Centre. She is a multi-year veteran of Judo Australia’s Pathways Program, having been selected to the Cadet Development Squad at 15, and now has more than 50 international matches for Australia.
Top results so far include a gold medal at the Hong Kong Cadet Asian Cup in 2025 (and silver in both the Macau Cadet Asian Cup and the Macau Junior Asian Cup that same year), and 7th in the Kranjska Gora Cadet European Cup. Currently ranked 44th in the world in her Cadet U70kg division, Hannah also fought the Cadet World Championships in 2025, making it through to the round of 16.
Her competition experience will stand her in good stead as she heads to Dakar to meet the world’s best young judoka under the Olympic banner.
“I want to follow my process and do my best judo, to hopefully bring home the gold,” she says. “I am excited just to get the chance to compete and experience the atmosphere.”
Australia’s chef de mission, three time canoe sprint Olympian Kenny Wallace, urged the young athletes to make the most of the whole experience – the competition, meeting athletes from around the world, experiencing a different culture, and understanding what it means to be part of an Australian Olympic Team.
“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.”
“Whether their pathway leads to LA28 or on to a home games in Brisbane 2032, Dakar has the opportunity to be a stepping stone, and I hope it lights a fire in them,” Mr Wallace said.
After a settling in and preparation period in late October, Hannar is due to compete in Dakar from Tuesday 3 November. See the full Youth Olympics program here: https://www.olympics.com/en/dakar-2026/schedule.
