International successes for our gymnasts !

November has been quite a busy month for both our Juniors and Seniors gymnasts, as they took part in several international meets.

Credit : An Vanderstraeten

Combs-La-Ville - 10-11 November

Kéziah Langendock (Gym Passion Herseaux), Jutta Verkest (Gymflex), Margaux Dandois (Oefening geeft kracht Duffel), Calisse Kums (TK Sta Paraat Hasselt), Charlotte Beydts (TK Sta Paraat Hasselt) and Joey Van Broeckhoven (Silok Deurne) traveled to France for the Tournoi International de Combs-La-Ville, a competition that gathered Youth and Juniors gymnasts.

The team composed of Kéziah, Jutta and Calisse took the bronze medal with 100.550. Italy won the gold (101.600) and France took the silver (101.167). Individually, Jutta got the best ranking, placing 4th with 50.267. In the event finals, Jutta won silver on bars, with Kéziah taking the bronze. On beam, Calisse got the gold medal. 

Full results here

Gympies Gymnova Cup - 10-11 November

The same weekend, De Gympies Keerbergen welcomed gymnasts from all over the world for its Gympies Gymnova Cup, gathering Youth, Juniors ans Seniors gymnasts. Lisa Vaelen brought home the gold in the Juniors category, with 50.233, ahead of teammate Cato Fleurackers (48.133). Lisa went on to win three more medals in the event finals: silver on beam (12.050) and floor (12.350), and gold on vault (13.550). Cato won gold on bars (12.450).

Full results here

Pictures here

Elite Gym Massilia - 16-18 November

Noémie Louon (Turnclub Varsenare), Jade Vansteenkiste (Gym Izegem), Margaux Daveloose (Turnclub Varsenare) and Julie Vandamme (Turnclub Varsenare) represented Belgium at the Elite Gym Massilia in Marseille (France).

Stacy Bertrandt competed alongside the team from Pôle France Marseille in the Open Massilia. She got a total score of 50.683 and placed 4th in the all-around as well as 4th in the team competition. In the Master competition, the girls got 149.550 for the bronze medal. Margaux got the best score with 49.900 and placed 8th. She also got 13.300 on bars and placed 2nd !

Full results here

Swiss Cup Juniors - 16th November

Our boys were also in action this month. Nicola and Glen Cuyle (Gym Izegem), Victor Martinez, Wout De Smedt (GC Malmedy) and Bram Vanmullen Olympia Houthalen) traveled to Zurich for a friendly meet against teams from Ukraine, Italy and Switzerland. With 224.700, they placed 4th in the team competition. Individually, Nicola Cuyle was the best Belgian, with 75.200 and the 4th place.

Full results here

Turnier der Meister - 22-25 November

Nina Derwael (TK Sta Paraat Hasselt) and Axelle Klinckaert (GymMax) were in Cottbus this past week, in the first of 8 World Cups qualifiers for the 2020 Olympic Games. Gymnasts have to compete in at least 3 World Cups between 2018 and 2020 in order to gain points. In the end of the World Cup series, the winner on each apparatus gets an individual spot for the Olympics.

Nina started this journey really well, placing 1st on bars with another stellar performance (15.100). Axelle Klinckaert qualified for the floor final but struggled a bit. She placed 7th with 12.900.

Full results here

Top Gym - 24-25 November

6 Belgian gymnasts competed at the Top Gym in Charleroi. Kéziah Langendock and Jutta Verkest were part of the FRBG team, Cassia Priels and Iliona Miloto represented the Gymnos Charleroi and Cato Fleurackers and Lisa Vaelen represented the Gympies Keerbergen.

Kéziah and Jutta, along with the team from Great Britain, won the team competition. Lisa and Cato, associated with Panama, won the bronze. Individually, Lisa Vaelen became the 2nd Belgian gymnast to win the all-around title (Axelle Klinckaert was the first in 2015), with 51.266. She also won the bronze medal on vault and floor, while Cato and Jutta tied for the bars title.

Full results here 

Pictures here

Worlds 2018: 4th place for Nina Derwael on beam!

On saturday, Nina Derwael concluded her World Championships with a 4th place on beam. 

Credit: Belgian Gymnastics

In a final full of wobbles and mistakes, China's Liu Tingting won the gold. She delivered a nearly perfect routine for a score of 14.533. The runner-up, Ana Padurariu from Canada, controlled her nerves very well in her first World Final and scored 14.100. Simone Biles was third with a score of 13.600. She wobbled her way through her routine but managed to stay on. 

Nina Derwael increased her difficulty for the final. She started with a beautiful layout step out and displayed great elegancy. Unfortunately she wobbled on her side somi. She scored 13.466 and finished 4th. 

Olympic champion Sanne Wevers from the Netherlands and American talent Kara Eaker both fell and were out of the medal hunt. 

You can rewatch Nina's routine here.

Beam final results:

1. Liu Tingting (CHN) 14.533

2. Ana Padarariu (CAN) 14.100

3. Simone Biles (USA) 13.600

4. Nina Derwael (BEL) 13.466

5. Elsabeth Black (CAN) 13.033

6. Kara Eaker (USA) 12.833

7. Sanne Wevers (NED) 12.666

8. Zhang Jin (CHN) 11.500

4 more finals were scheduled on saturday. The male vaulters opened the final day of competition in Doha. North-Korean Ri Se Gwang won the competition thanks to his higher difficulty level on both vaults. Russian Artur Dalaloyan won the silver, Kenzo Shirai from Japan the bronze. 

On parallel bars Zou Jingyuan from China displayed great difficulty and execution to win the gold medal. Oleg Verniaiev from Ukraine won the silver while Artur Dalaloyan from the Russian Federation won yet another bronze medal. 

Simone Biles won her 14th World title on floor. Her teammate Morgan Hurd was second and Japan's Mai Murakami completed the podium. 

The last final of the day was the most spectacular one: men's high bar. Flying Dutch doctor Epke Zonderland won this final. Kohei Uchimara from Japan ended up second and American Samuel Mikulak was third. 

You can find all results here. 

2018 Worlds : Historical gold medal for Nina Derwael on the uneven bars !

In the space of a year and a half, Nina Derwael won two European title, a World bronze medal and a World title! In the final today, she was untouchable and won the gold with 15.200.

Amazing, unreal, historical, unbelievable. There are not enough words in the world to describe what Nina Derwael achieved today.

Heavy favorite for the uneven bars gold, the title was hers to lose. But she delivered under the pressure, once again. The last time Nina missed a uneven bars routine in competition was at the European Championships qualifications in 2016. Not only has she become one of the best bars workers in the world, she's only one of the most consistent. 

Today, she made history once again. She became the first Belgian gymnast, male or female, to win a World Championship title EVER. Her bronze medal last year was the first medal for a Belgian female gymnast, and the first medal for Belgium in more than a hundred years. Her result back then was already historical. But today's performance was even more.

With a massive 15.200, Nina placed 1st with a 0.5 lead over the silver medallist, Simone Biles (14.700). Germany's Elisabeth Seitz took the bronze (14.600). 

Watch her routine here

Uneven bars final:

1. Nina Derwael (BEL) 15.200

2. Simone Biles (USA) 14.700

3. Elisabeth Seitz (GER) 14.600

4. Luo Huan (CHN) 14.500

5. Aliya Mustafina (RUS) 14.433

6. Morgan Hurd (USA) 14.433

7. Becky Downie (GBR) 13.333

8. Jonna Adlerteg (SWE) 13.166

History was made in the other finals too. Simone Biles won her very first World Championships vault title, making that her 13th World gold medals overall. This is more than any gymnast, male or female. She scored 15.366 and placed ahead of Shallon Olsen from Canada (14.516) and Mexico's Alexa Moreno (14.508), who won the first world medal for her country.

On the men's side, Carlos Edriel Yulo from the Philippines won a historic bronze medal on floor for his country with 14.600. Russia's Artur Dalaloyan won the title (14.900) ahead of Kenzo Shirai (Japan, 14.866). 

Xiao Ruoteng (China) and Max Whitlock (Great Britain) tied for first on the pommel horse final with 15.166. Xiao already lost a tie break in the all-around final, when he tied for first with Dalaloyan. That day, he had to leave the arena with the silver. But not today. Thanks to a cleaner execution, he got away with the gold medal. Taipei's Lee Chih Kai got the bronze (14.966). It's only the scond medal for Taipei after a bronze on vault at the 1993 World Championships.

On rings, Eleftherios Petrounias once again won the gold medal. The Greek is the undisputed Lord of the Rings and has not been defeated since 2015. Today, he scored 15.366. Brazil's Arthur Zanetti, the 2012 Olympic Champion on that event, got the silver medal (15.100) and Italy's Marco Lodadio earned the bronze (14.900).

Tomorrow will be the final day of competition in Doha. Nina Derwael will be in the balance beam final around 14:30 !

Find all the results here.

2018 Worlds: Historical 4th place for Nina Derwael!

This afternoon Nina Derwael and Axelle Klinckaert competed in the all around final. Axelle hoped to improve her ranking from the qualifications and she did by finishing 18th. Nina Derwael once again wrote Belgian gymnastics history by finishing 4th. Simone Biles won the world title for the 4th time.

Credit: Alkass

Nina started her competition together with the other top qualifiers on vault.  She scored 13.566 for her Yurchenko with full twist. Axelle started on floor. A missed pirouette and some landings deductions got her a 12.800.

In the second rotation, Axelle moved on the vault where she showed a great full twisting Yurchenko. She got 13.700. Nina outclassed the field with her excellent routine on bars. With 15.100, she got the highest score of the competition and jumped from 10th to 3rd in the ranking!

Nina seemed unstoppable and performed confidentely on beam. She scored 13.733 and moved into 2nd place after the 3rd rotation. Axelle improved her qualifying score on bars with a 13.066.

Axelle was first up on beam but unfortunately fell on her mount. She scored 12.266. Nina was stunning on floor. She amazed the world with her expressive choreography and elegance but lacked a bit of difficulty. She nevertheless scored 13.300 and an all around total of 55.699, her personal best! Axelle scored 51.832 and finished 18th. 

Axelle, well on her way back from the knee injury that kept her out of training and competition for more than a year, improved her ranking from qualifications, moving from the 24th to the 18th place. She said later in the mixed zone that the mistakes motivate her to work even harder! 

Nina once gain wrote history. With a new personal total, she finished just 0.033 away from the bronze medal. Nothing to be disapointed about, she gave everything she could and can be really proud of herself. Only 10 years ago, Belgian gymfans were happy when girls qualified for the finals. Now they are fighting for the medals! 

Credit: Marjorie Heuls

Simone Biles, who had uncharacteristic mistakes and fell twice, took the all around title for the 4th time. This is also her 12th Worlds medal. She became the first woman to won the all around 4 times. Mai Murakami from Japan won the silver medal, while Morgan Hurd (USA), the 2017 all around champion, took the bronze.

All around rankings:

1. Simone Biles (USA) 57.491

2. Mai Murakami (JPN) 55.798

3. Morgan Hurd (USA) 55.732

4. Nina Derwael (BEL) 55.699

5. Angelina Melnikova (RUS) 55.698

6. Melanie De Jesus Dos Santos (FRA) 55.599

7. Chen Yile (CHN) 54.632

8. Flavia Saraiva (BRA) 54.366

...

18. Axelle Klinckaert (BEL) 51.832

You can find the full results here.

Tomorrow all eyes will be on Nina, who will fight for the gold on uneven bars. She'll compete around 16:00 Belgian time. The finals will be broadcasted live on Sporza. 

2018 Worlds: 4 individual finals and an 11th place finish as a team!

The women's qualifications took place this Saturday and Sunday. Drawn in the very first subdivision, Belgium had to wait two full days to finally know if they had qualified for any finals. Recap! 

Credit: Rune Hermans Instagram

Even though the day didn't go as planned, with falls on bars and beam, Team Belgium managed to score 158.970 and place 11th, the same position as in 2014 and 2015, and qualified for 4 individual finals! Visibly upset after those mistakes, our girls can be very proud of themselves as a fall-free meet wouldn't have changed much in the standings.

Starting on floor, Maellyse Brassart displayed an entertaining routine, including a full twisting double pike and a double pike (12.833). Rune Hermans, who just came back, got 12.533, while Axelle Klinckaert scored 13.166 for her routine including a double layout, a full twisting double back and a double pike. Nina Derwael got the highest score of the team fer her elegant routine, with 13.266.

Moving on the vaults, the team showed 4 steady full-twisting Yurchenkos. Axelle got the highest score with 13.700. Things started to go a little bit off track on bars, with falls from Senna (11.466) and Axelle (12.033). Rune then managed to go clean and earned 13.000. All eyes were on Nina as she prepared herself for her bars set. She once again delivered and received a massive 15.066!

The team then went to beam, their last event of the day. Maellyse unfortunately fell twice (11.266) and Rune once (11.866). No problem for Axelle with a 13.175. Nina was breathtaking on beam, earning a great 13.766!

In addition to the 11th place finish as a team, which assures them a team spot at the 2019 Worlds, Nina Derwael and Axelle Klinckaert qualified for individual finals. Nina had an amazing qualification round with a 55.564 in the all-around. She not only qualified for the final, she did it by placing 4th, the highest ranking ever attained by a Belgian female gymnast at this level ! She'll be joined by Axelle Klinckaert, who had to wait until the very last subdivision. She placed 27th but will advance to the final thanks to the two-per-country rule, as three Americans, three Chineses and three Japaneses had placed ahead of her. She scored 52.072, a score she can easily improve in final.

Nina Derwael made a statement for the bars final, as she qualified in 1st place with the massive score of 15.066. The closest one was Simone Biles, with 14.866, two tenths behind. Already pointed as one of the favorites for a medal, Nina is now the favorite to win the World title. Icing on the cake, she'll also compete in the balance beam final. With 13.766, she qualified with the 6th score. Known for her bars, Nina has proved to be a great beam worker as well, something she showed the world back in August when she won a silver medal.

Team qualifications

1. United States 174.429 

2. Russia 165.497 

3. China 165.196 

4. Canada 163.897 

5. Brazil 162.529 

6. Japan 162.180 

7. France 161.629 

8. Germany 161.071

...

11. Belgium 158.970

All-around qualifications

1. Simone Biles (USA) 60.965

2. Morgan Hurd (USA) 56.465

3. Mai Murakami (JPN) 55.632

4. Nina Derwael (BEL) 55.564

...

27. Axelle Klinckaert (BEL) 52.074

Uneven bars qualifications

1. Nina Derwael (BEL) 15.066

2. Simone Biles (USA) 14.866

3. Elisabeth Seitz (GER) 14.566

4. Luo Huan (CHN) 14.466

5. Morgan Hurd (USA) 14.466

6. Aliya Mustafina (RUS) 14.433

7. Jonna Adlerteg (SWE) 14.433

8. Becky Downie (GBR) 14.400

Balance beam qualifications

1. Simone Biles (USA) 14.800

2. Kara Eaker (USA) 14.466

3. Zhang Jin (CHN) 14.100

4. Sanne Wevers (NED) 14.033

5. Ana Padurariu (CAN) 13.966

6. Nina Derwael (BEL) 13.766

7. Ellie Black (CAN) 13.733

8. Liu Tingting (CHN) 13.733

Competition continues all week long. The all-around final will take place on Thursday at 2pm (Belgian time). The bars final will be on Friday and the beam final on Saturday, both at 2pm. Don't forget that Sporza will be showing the finals live on TV!

Full results here

2018 Worlds: 19th place as a team, Dennis Goossens 9th on rings!

The 2018 World Championships kicked off on Thursday morning with a two-day qualifications for the men's team. In a very tense couple of days, our Team Belgium placed 19th, while Dennis Goossens came very close of a World's final.

Credit: FfG

Our boys started their journey on the second subdivision (out of 10). Things started really well, with solid performances on vault and parallel bars. On vault, Jonathan Vrolix earned the highest score for the team with a 13.866, while Noah Kuavita proved to be the best on parallel bars, with 13.700. 

The horizontal bar was a rotation to forget, as both Maxime Gentges and Noah fell. Luka Van den Keybus got the highest score there, with a 12.833. The team reacted very well and immediately got to a good start in floor with strong scores from Maxime (13.733) and Noah (13.966). But it's Jonathan who stole the show with an impressive 14.066 !

If you've followed the men's qualifications from beginning to the end, you'd have noticed most of teams struggled with the pommel horse, counting multiple falls, even from favorites. Belgium didn't escape the pommels disaster, having to count a 10 in the team total. Maxime showed he could resist to the pressure by hitting his set, while the rest of the arena was ready to move on to the next apparatus (12.658).

The team finished on rings, with good performances, especially from Dennis Goossens, who got 14.533. With a total of 236.644, all the team at to do now was wait.

After two days of qualifications, Russia came on top. The Russians competed in the very first subdivision and managed to keep the lead all the way. With 258.402, they placed 1st, ahead of China (257.836) and Japan (253.312). The United States, Great Britain, Brazil, the Netherlands and Switzerland will join them in final.

Team qualifications

1. Russia 258.402

2. China 257.836

3. Japan 253.312

4. United States 250.362

5. Great Britain 249.836

6. Brazil 246.961

7. The Netherlands 245.663

8. Switzerland 245.186

...

19. Belgium 236.644

Individually, China's Xiao Ruoteng, last year's all-around champion, leads the qualification with 87.332, ahead of Russia's Nikita Nagornyy (87.098) and Samuel Mikulak from the United States (86.598). There will be no Belgians in the final that will gather the top 24 from qualifications. Jonathan Vrolix placed 32nd (78.830). Maxime Gentges is 42nd (78.082) and Noah Kuavita is 56th (76.599).

All-around qualifications

1. Xiao Rutoeng (CHN) 87.332

2. Nikita Nagornyy (RUS) 87.098

3.Samuel Mikulak (USA) 86.598

...

32. Jonathan Vrolix (BEL) 78.830

42. Maxime Gentges (BEL) 78.082

56. Noah Kuavita (BEL) 76.599

It was very close for Dennis Goossens, who still had a ticket for the rings final until the very last subdivision. He places 9th and will be the first reserve.

The 19th place finish as a team means that our Belgian guys qualified for the 2019 World Championships, that will serve as the last team qualifier for the Tokyo Olympics ! Even though they didn't manage to improve their best result (17th place in 2015), Belgium can be proud of what they accomplished here. 

Tomorrow, our girls will start their qualifications at 8:00 (Belgian time) on floor.

Full results here

2018 Worlds : What to expect from Team Belgium?

Here we go again! On Thursday, the World Championships will begin in Doha (Qatar), gathering more than 500 gymnasts that will fight for the 42 medals that will be awarded. What to expect from Team Belgium? Preview.

Credit : Senna Deriks Instagram

These World Championships will be the first step towards the 2020 Olympic Games, as the first 3 teams in the team final will automatically be qualified. The top 24 teams in qualifications will advance to the 2019 World Championships.

In Doha, Belgium is represented by a men and a women's team. The men's team will compete on Thursday. Maxime Gentges, Noah Kuavita, Dennis Goossens, Luka Van den Keybus and Jonathan Vrolix will start on vault in the 2nd subdivision of the day. This team is a really talented one, possibly the best Belgium ever had. The goal is of course the top 24 but if they go clean, they can very well reach the top 16, which would be the best result ever by a Belgian men's team at a World Championships. The team is well balanced, with strong vaults, impressive performances on floor from Jonathan, on high bar from Noah, on pommels from Maxime, on parallel bars from Luka and on rings from Dennis. In addition to the team competition, at least one of them should qualify for the all-around final, while Dennis Goossens has a shot at qualifying for the rings final.

Credit : FfG Instagram

On the women's side, the team is composed of Nina Derwael, Maellyse Brassart, Axelle Klinckaert, Senna Deriks and Rune Hermans. The girls recently won a friendly meet against Romania and the Netherlands and showed they were ready during podium training. This team has the potential to place in the top 12 as a team, which is the official target, but if they all go clean, they could very well get close to the top 8. Their best result is an 11th place in 2014 and 2015. Individually, two of them should qualify for the all-around final. Start lists have yet to be released, but Nina and Axelle should do the all-around in qualifications. Senna is more likely to go on vault and bars, Maellyse on vault, beam and floor, with Rune competing on bars, beam and floor. Nina Derwael is also in contention for the bars final, where she'll have a chance to defend her bronze medal from last year, and Axelle has a shot at making the floor final, after she got bronze at the European Championships this summer. The girls will start on floor on October 27th, in the very first subdivision.

Programme (Belgian time):

25/10/2018 - 8:00:  Qualifications MAG (Belgium - Subdivision 2)

26/10/2018 - 8:00: Qualifications MAG

27/10/2018 - 8:00: Qualifications WAG (Belgium - Subdivision 1)

28/10/2018 - 8:00: Qualifications WAG

29/10/2018 - 15:00: Team final MAG

30/10/2018 - 15:00: Team final WAG

31/10/2018 -15:00: All-around final MAG

01/11/2018 - 15:00: All-around final WAG

02/11/2018 - 15:00: Event finals

03/11/2018 -15:00: Event finals

There will be no livestream for the qualifications but you can follow the scores live on the FIG website. The finals will be broadcasted on Sporza. And of course, follow us on Twitter for quick updates!