The 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar have officially concluded for the Ukrainian delegation. The final touch to the performance of the "Blue and Yellows" was provided by 14-year-old breaker Nicole "Nika Star" Jurik, whose result finalized the team's total medal tally. She was the last representative of Ukraine to enter the arena in the capital of Senegal, and her award is the country's first-ever Olympic medal in breaking. A detailed breakdown of the performance and competition results is provided by Sport RBC.UA.
Breaking Debuts in the Youth Olympic Program
Breaking entered the Youth Olympic Games program for the first time at the Dakar competition, making the final in this discipline especially symbolic. Nicole Jurik is a student of the Vinnytsia club "Sky Labs" and a two-time champion of Ukraine (2024, 2025). Her path to the final began with a flawless group stage: she won all three battles against opponents from the USA, Kazakhstan, and Bulgaria with an identical score of 2:0.
Flawless Path to the Decisive Match
In the quarterfinals, the 14-year-old Ukrainian defeated the representative of Malaysia with a 3:0 score (25:2 by vote), and in the semifinals, she overcame the Spaniard "Mini Ali" with a score of 2:1. Thus, Jurik confidently navigated through all playoff stages to reach the final, where the strongest opponent of the tournament was waiting for her.
Final Against the Reigning World Champion
In the decisive gold medal match, "Nika Star" faced 17-year-old "Hiyo" from Japan, the reigning world champion and leader of the world youth rankings. In a tense final, the more experienced opponent secured the victory with a score of 2:1 (20:7 by vote). For Nicole, this was a silver medal—the first Olympic medal in breaking in Ukraine's history—and the ninth award for the team in the overall Games standings.
Nine Awards and 11th Place in the Medal Table
Following all events in Dakar, the Ukrainian national team won 9 awards—three of each value. Gold: Khazar Geidarov (judo), Milania Kokhan (hammer throw), Ukrainian girls' team (futsal). Silver: Alina Dmytruk (fencing), Vitaliy Tarasyuk (race walking 5000 m), Nicole Jurik (breaking). Bronze: Darina Kozka (race walking 5000 m), Nikita Kuzmenko (beach wrestling), Evangelina Petruk (boxing).
This result allowed Ukraine to take 11th place in the overall medal table, falling just one step short of the top ten: Croatia took 10th place, edging out the "Blue and Yellows" by one silver medal (3 golds and 4 silvers). China became the undisputed leader of the team standings with 32 medals (17 golds, 8 silvers, and 7 bronzes). Nevertheless, the best result in the history of the Summer Youth Olympic Games for Ukraine remains the inaugural 2010 competition in Singapore, where Ukrainian athletes won 33 awards (9 golds, 9 silvers, and 15 bronzes).
