At the Artistic Gymnastics Championship in Qatar, our 18-year-old compatriot has won a gold medal, the first Belgian ever to do so.
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Belgium has another world champion to its name. In Doha, Nina Derwael has claimed the world title on the uneven bars. It is the best result ever achieved by a Belgian gymnast.
The Limburg-native performed superbly throughout the tournament. In total, she reached 3 of the finals. She came 4th in the all-round and balance beam final. But on the uneven bars, her favourite apparatus, she was unstoppable. With a score of 15,200 points, she left the American gymnast and record holder Simone Biles (14,600 points) and the German Elisabeth Seitz (14,700 points), trailing in her wake.
Derwael has also been successful at previous tournaments. In 2017, she already achieved 3rd place on the uneven bars at the World Championships. She eventually became European Champion that year on the uneven bars, a title she extended in August. She is currently Vice European Champion on the uneven bars.
Thanks to her recent performances, there was a lot of pressure for these World Championships. Derwael was one of the favourites. She took it all in her stride: '[...] No pressure is as big as the pressure I put on myself. I was glad I could live up to expectations, and when I landed after my jump, all the stress evaporated,' she explained.
