14-year-old Ukrainian breaker Nicole Dzhuryk, who competes under the nickname Nikastar, won the silver medal at the IV Summer Youth Olympic Games 2026 in Dakar, Senegal. In the final battle, the Ukrainian lost to Japan’s Hiyo Yamada and brought Ukraine’s national team its ninth medal at the competition. The NOC of Ukraine reported this, UNN writes.
The final medal for Ukraine’s national team at the 2026 YOG in Dakar was won by breaker Nicole Dzhuryk, who competes under the nickname "Nikastar"
It is noted that the Ukrainian began the competition in the preselection round, where she placed second among 12 participants with a score of 77.8 points. In the group stage, Nicole competed in Group B and secured three 2:0 victories over representatives of Kazakhstan, the United States, and Bulgaria. This allowed her to finish first in the group and advance to the quarterfinals.
In the quarterfinals, 14-year-old Nikastar faced a representative of Malaysia and secured a convincing victory, winning all three rounds with a 25:2 advantage in the judges’ votes. In the semifinal battle, the Ukrainian was stronger than the representative of Spain, winning two of the three rounds. This success took Nicole to the final and guaranteed her a Youth Olympic Games medal!
In the decisive battle for "gold," the Ukrainian’s opponent was Hiyo "Hiyo" Yamada — a 17-year-old Japanese athlete who is the reigning 2026 junior world champion and the leader of the youth world rankings of the World DanceSport Federation. Following three competitive rounds, the Japanese representative won 1:2, while Nicole Dzhuryk finished the competition with a silver medal!
Nicole Dzhuryk’s silver medal became Ukraine’s ninth at the IV Summer Youth Olympic Games. The Ukrainians finished the competition in Dakar with three gold, three silver, and three bronze medals. At present, in the overall medal standings, the "blue-and-yellow" team ranks 11th