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Affichage des articles du octobre, 2015

Worlds 2015: History in the making for our Men's team

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Credit: GymFed I wanted to take a few days before I write this article, because I wanted to talk not only about the results but about what the Men's National gymnastics team has achieved here in Glasgow. I wanted to go deeper, I wanted to try to find the right words because I feel like this is an important moment, a moment that we will remember.  I also wanted to let the disappointment go away. Let's be clear, I'm not disappointed IN the gymnasts, I'm disappointed FOR them. But man! 17th in the World! That's huge! And yes, Belgium will not get the chance to send a full team at the test event, and yes, the selection will be hard given all the potential this team has, and yes, some will be left behind because of this. And yes, finally, the year and the road will be long for those athletes. But once again: 17th IN THE WORLD! Four years ago, at the 2011 World Championships, Belgium didn't even have a full team! In the past three years, those boys have

Worlds 2015: a qualifying spot for the Test Event and two gymnasts in finals!

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Yesterday, the Belgian women's team placed 11th as a team at the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships! With 219,780, they get their ticket for the Test Event in Rio! Lisa Verschueren and Rune Hermans qualified for the all-around final! Credit: Florence Lestienne Our gymnasts started on floor exercise. Laura Waem (Sportiva Sint-Gillis Waas)  was the first gymnast to go. With a very clean serie and perfect landings, she earned a 13.400. Nest up was  Cindy Vandenhole (Vaste Vuist Lauwe) , who got 12.933. Belgium girls impressed with their expressiveness, as Gaelle Mys (OTV Nazareth) ,  Lisa Verschueren (Sportiva Sint-Gillis-Waas)  and  Rune Hermans (Gym Haacht)  earned 13.800, 13.933 and 13.966! On vault, they all performed a full twisting yurchenko. A simple vault but they all received clean execution scores! Rune  got a 14.000, while  Lisa  scored 13.700. Two gymnasts then received scores higher than 14.000: Gaelle  (14.133) and  Cindy  (14.100).  Lisa  got 13.916.

Worlds 2015: review of the Men's podium training!

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Wednesday, our Men's National Team had the opportunity to train on the competition apparatuses. What happened? Find out here ! Credit: Florence Lestienne Our boys started on still rings. First up was Bram Louwije (Turnkring Vlamertinge) . A few hesitations here and there but a good exercice overall. Jimmy Verbaeys (Blauwput Omnisport)  also had a good routine, with just a step on his landing.  Maxime Gentges (Gym Club Malmédy)  and  Jonathan Vrolix (Olympia Houthalen)  both fell on their dismounts, a double piked salto for  Maxime  and a double layout for  Jonathan . Our boys could go on the apparatus a second time, just the time for them to make some adjustments.  On vault, no real problems, except for Florian Landuyt (Sportac Deinze) , but he made a good vault on his second round.  Next were the parallel bars, where Jimmy Verbaeys  impressed with a difficult routine. A few adjustments for  Bram  and  Jonathan , who didn't dismounted. Maxime  hit his ffet on

2015 Worlds: review of WAG's podium training

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The Belgian women's team complete its podium training this Tuesday. This training was a good opportunity for our gymnasts to repeat their routines on the apparatuses they will compete on in qualifications. Let's see what happened! Credit: Florence Lestienne Our gymnasts started on floor exercise. Laura Waem (Sportiva Sint-Gillis-Waas) was up first for the Belgian team. Recently injured, Laura made ​​a very good comeback at the Novara Cup in Italy. In Glasgow, she again delivered a good performance on floor. Cindy Vandenhole (Vaste Vuist Lauwe) , Gaelle Mys (OTV Nazareth) and Lisa Verschueren (Sportiva Sint-Gillis-Waas) were very strong, especially on their landings. But it's Rune Hermans (Gym Haacht) who impressed me the most. The alternate Dorien Motten (Turnkringe Bilzen) also presented her routine. She took some time off to focus on her studies but she looked very fit. Julie Croket (GymMax), who recently injured her ankle, will only perform on beam. On

2015 Worlds: What to expect from our Women's team?

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The World Championships (Glasgow, October 23 - November 1) start in less than 10 days ! Now that the preparation of our women's team is over, it's time to see a little further and try to see what are the strengths and weaknesses of the team. Crédit: Florence Lestienne 11th last year, the objective of Belgium for this year is not so different: the top 16 and a qualifying spot for the Test Event! Personally, I think the team can approach the top 10 once again. At the press conference organized by the Royal Belgian Gymnastics Federation on September 23, Yves Kieffer , the national coach announced his team : * Gaelle Mys (OTV Nazareth) * Lisa Verchueren (Sportiva Sint-Gillis-Waas) * Rune Hermans (Gym Haacht) * Cindy Vandenhole (Vaste Vuist Lauwe) * Laura Waem (Sportiva Sint-Gillis-Waas) * Julie Croket (GymMax) Alternates: * Jelle Beullens (De Gympies Keerbergen) * Dorien Motten (Turnkring Bilzen) Three gymnasts should compete on all four appar

2015 Worlds: What to expect from our Men's team?

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The 2015 World Championships are just around the corner (Glasgow, October 23 - November 1)! Last year, the men's team finished in 19th place. And this year, the objective is clear: the top 16 and a qualifying spot for the Test Event! Siemon Volkaert Instagram Yesterday, the men's team has been named. Donna-Donny Truyens (Blauwput Omnisport), Jonathan Vrolix (Olympia Houthalen) and Siemon Volkaert (GymMax) were selected to represent Belgium in Glasgow. They join Jimmy Verbaeys (Blauwput Omnisport), Maxime Gentges (Gym Club Malmedy), Florian Landuyt (Sportac Deinze) and Bram Louwije (Turnkring Vlamertinge), who were already selected. At the 2014 Worlds, Belgium ranked 19th, the best finish ever for team Belgium. With this ranking, the men's team qualified for the 2015 Worlds. And this year, the B elgian team wants to do even better: to reach the top 16 and earn a qualifying spot for the Test Event for the first time! We don't know yet which gymn

Novara Cup: a bronze medal for team Belgium!

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This Saturday, the Belgian women's team was in Italy for the Novara Cup, an international competition that saw teams from Italy, Spain, Romania and Belgium compete against each other. And our gymnasts won a team bronze! This meet served as a final test for our WAG's team before the World Championships in Glasgow (October 23 - November 1), an important competition on the path to the Olympic Games. In Italy, the girls struggled on balance beam, the same event they had trouble with in Mouscon last month . Jelle Beullens (De Gympies Keerbergen ) had the difficult task of going up first for Belgium. Unfortunately, with two falls, she does not get the result she hoped to launch the Belgian team into this competition (11.000). Rune Hermans (Gym Haacht) and Gaelle Mys (OTV Nazareth) achieved good results, even if we know Gaelle can score higher (13.500 and 13.550). Laura Waem (Sportiva Sint-Gillis-Waas), who had only competed on uneven bars in Mouscron, competed the all

Novara Cup: last competition for our women's team before Worlds

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On October 10, the Belgian women's team will be in Italy for the Novara Cup, an international competition that will gather teams from Italy, Belgium, Spain and Romania. Find here the list of participants! Credit: Federazione Ginnastica d'Italia This competition will serve as the last test before the 2015 World Championships (Glasgow, October 23 - November 1). List of participants: Team Belgium: * Jelle Beullens (De Gympies Keerbergen) * Rune Hermans (Gym Haacht) * Gaelle Mys (OTV Nazareth) * Cindy Vandenhole (Vaste Vuist Lauwe) * Lisa Verschueren (Sportiva Sint-Gillis-Waas) * Laura Waem (Sportiva Sint-Gillis-Waas) Julie Croket is still recovering from the ankle injury she sustained at the friendly meet against Sweden and Austria. Team Italy: * Vanessa Ferrari * Carlotta Ferlito * Erika Fasana * Lara Mori * Elisa Meneghini * Enus Mariani * Tea Ugrin Team Spain: * Roxana Popa * Ana Perez * Nora Fernandez * Paula Raya *

MAG: Italy wins a friendly meet against Belgium

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This Saturday, our Men's National Team was in Cagliari (Italy) for a friendly meet against the Italian team. Find out here all the results! Credit: Salvatore Sedda Italy won the meet with 338.850 ahead of Belgium (333,500). In the all around, Italian gymnast Paolo Principi won gold (85.050), followed by two Belgians, Florian Landuyt (84.900) and Jimmy Verbaeys (84.150). Credit: Salvatore Sedda Belgium was represented by the nine gymnasts who are pre-selected for the World Championships in Glasgow (October 23 - November 1). For now, only Jimmy Verbaeys (Blauwput Omnisport), Florian Landuyt (Sportac Deinze), Maxime Gentges (Gym Club Malmedy) and Bram Louwije (Turnkringe Vlamertinge) have their ticket to Glasgow. Five gymnasts are still in contention for the last two remaining spots for the team that will go to the World Championships. These gymnasts are: Kristof Schroé ('t Spagaatje Hoogstraten), Gilles Gentges (Gym Club Malmedy), Siemon Volkaert