Guillermo Cortés qualifies for Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics

Guillermo Manuel Cortés Labastida, a 16-year-old taekwondo athlete from Guadalajara, Mexico, has qualified for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar. Cortés is a three-time world champion, having secured gold medals at the Cadet World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria (2022), Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (2023), and most recently at the Junior World Taekwondo Championship in Tashkent, Uzbekistan (2026).

In his most recent victory in Uzbekistan, Cortés competed in the -59 kg category, defeating South Korea's Ji Woon Ha in the final. For the upcoming Dakar games, scheduled for October 31 to November 13, 2026, he is expected to compete in the -63 kg division. He trains under the guidance of his father, Carlos Cortés.