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. 

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