Yukhareva qualified for the Russian squad in the women's lightweight class (57 kg) at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, by placing third from the European Championships in Bucharest, Romania. She got off to a rough start with a sudden-death defeat from North Korean judoka and 1996 Olympic champion Kye Sun-hui in the prelims. With her opponent moving further into the final, Yukhareva permitted herself a chance for an Olympic bronze medal by immediately clutching Malta's Marcon Bezzina and Great Britain's Sophie Cox in the repechage round, but fell short to France's Barbara Harel by a double yuko and a seoi nage (shoulder throw) in their subsequent match, relegating Yukhareva into the seventh position.