AOTW: Culture, competition shine through at record-breaking NYO Games

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The Native Youth Olympics are a celebration of culture and competition, which was on full display at the 2026 Games.

While NYO was held for the 56th time this year, the traditional games have been played for centuries longer, passed down generation-to-generation through this event.

“The Games have fully introduced me to my cultural identity,” Anchorage senior Quentin O’Domin said. “I didn’t know ... it feels like I didn’t know who I was before the games and now I feel like I know me.”

O’Domin claimed gold in both the Scissor Broad Jump, leaping 36 feet, 7.5 inches, and the One-foot High Kick at 110 inches.

CC Carter, the Mat-Su athlete who can be frequently seen atop the podium, set a new NYO State record in the Scissor Broad Jump at an eye-popping 31 feet, 3.5 inches.

“I jumped as far as I could, as close to the yellow line as I could, and I looked behind me and the tape measure’s not touching my feet. I’m like, ‘Are they measuring me right?’ Like, what’s going on?” Carter recalled. “I look down, I look at my friend, I put my hands on my face, I almost started crying. I was so excited because I had never gotten a state record and I wanted to so bad.”

Carter also saw first place finishes in the Alaskan High Kick (72 inches) and the Kneel Jump (52.75 inches), with podium placements in the Two-foot High Kick (fifth) and One-foot High Kick (second).

Around 400 athletes participated at the 2026 Games, some from areas where their NYO team makes up a good portion of their community.

“My hometown has like around 40–50 people,” said Jubel Perry, Inuit Stick Pull Champion, of Chenega. “There’s 10 kids in my school and I work out all year for this.”

The full results from the 2026 Native Youth Olympics can be found here.

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