“I remember it was the Vancouver World Championships 2008. This time was just perfect for me because, in France, you also graduate around that age and you get your driving license, and so it's like, ‘Okay, I can really have the hat trick now; I can graduate, can get my driving license and I can be Junior World Champion!”

Of course Vincent Luis paints a picture-perfect memory that few will ever experience. But the point is, he also remembers the dreaming, the plotting, the scheming and, most of all, the hours and hours of dedication to his craft that took him to that glorious weekend in early June of 2008.

Eighteen years on and five months out from a historic moment for African sport, Luis has been confirmed as an Athlete Role Model for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games. And it's the latter he will bring to the table when he meets the 64-strong cohort of 15–16 year-olds making their first steps onto the world stage on 5-6 November this year.

“The young guys are going to have a lot of questions… and I don't say it's mandatory to race at the pinnacle of sports to have the answers. But some questions that I was wondering about when I was 16, 18, 20, I definitely have the answers now. Are they the right answers? I don't know, but they're my answers. And if I can share a bit of knowledge, help them and let them know what I know, I can try to help them have a bit of a clearer vision of what's next.”

Making history in a golden era
Taking one last trip down memory lane to 2008, two years before the first edition of the Youth Olympic Games Singapore, that was the year Jan Frodeno won Olympic gold in Beijing. But it was also the year that while Luis was winning his precious Junior World title, Alistair Brownlee became U23 World Champion and Javier Gomez was crowned the Elite Champion. A power trio if ever there was, the beginning of a golden era. 

“I remember watching the elites race… and it was just crazy, just super impressive. I was thinking, 'yeah, these guys, they're all prepping for Beijing Olympics. And maybe one year I can go to the Olympics...' that was just my thinking.”

As far as being a role model, or perhaps more of a mentor, for November's Youth Olympics in Dakar - the first Olympic event on African soil - Luis’ status and the esteem he is held in by his fellow athletes made him an obvious choice to be a sounding-board for 64 talented athletes with the world at their feet. 

“I knew Emma Snowsill did it a few years back and I thought she’s actually the perfect person to do it because she has so much experience and so much to share. When World Triathlon reached out to me, I was like, ‘am I the right person? Do I have anything to say to these kids?'”

Mind over matter?
But as someone who has become a senior member of a new-look and eclectic training squad under Glenn Poleunis, Luis realised he has become used to being asked for opinions and about experiences and just how he got to the top of the world by beating the best in the business.  Suddenly the decision to accept became an easier one.

“It's one hour of racing. And at the end of the day, it will be one guy that will be World Champion or Youth Olympic Champion for the rest of his life. And I think it's really important to not let doubts overcome a potential great outcome. I think that's the main thing.”

It is also a mentality that you need if you’re facing off against the biggest names the sport has ever known and not just lining up with them, but learning how to beat them. 

“In 2014, I was racing in Hamburg and I was going to the start and that was the big-names era, Big Dogs like Javi Gomez, Johnny Brownlee, Alistair Brownlee, everyone was there. And I remember Laurent Vidal told me, they're not stronger. Just race.”

Luis took silver behind Ali Brownlee and ahead of Johnny and Javi. Suddenly he was shoulder to shoulder with the best in the business. “If you're not confident enough to think you can win, then just watch the race. Don't race it, you know?”

The Youth Olympic graduates
That is a mindset that may be easier said than done for those starting out on their Olympic journeys, but there are plenty of big names that have kicked on to the biggest start lines in the world.

Buenos Aires men’s champion Dylan McCullough (NZL) had a big part to play at Paris 2024, Carolina Velasquez (COL) and Erica Hawley (BER) were graduates of Nanjing who hit that same start line in France, and USA’s Kevin McDowell was part of the silver-medal winning Mixed Relay squad of Tokyo 2020. 

Elsewhere, some big names currently making a splash at the top level after cutting their teeth at the YOG are Henry Graf (GER), Alessio Crociani (ITA), Sian Rainsley (GBR), Anna Godoy (ESP) and Ellie Salthouse (AUS).

“Some will kick on, for some it might literally be the biggest thing that they ever do”, says Luis. “So it's about taking it all in and whatever you get out of it, try and make it as positive as possible and keep those memories going. The outcome might not be winning, might not be even having a medal. But I do believe as long as you come back home and you know you've done your best… you have the right to say people are stronger than you. And that's I think one of the things that brought me where I'm now.'

Wise words from one of the best there ever was. The class of Dakar 2026 would do well to get as much face time with Vincent Luis as they can as they prepare for an event that could change their lives.