Belgian gymnast Nina Derwael (23) has secured her spot in the Paris Olympics following her performance on the beam at the Baku Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Azerbaijan.
Derwael, scoring 13.433, came third in the qualifiers, trailing behind China's Qingying Zhang (14.300) and Brazil's Julia Soares (13.466) before the final subdivision. The Belgian Gymnastics Federation confirmed that her performance guarantees her place in the French capital this summer, marking her third consecutive Olympic appearance, where she will defend her title on the asymmetric bars.
The Limburg-born gymnast had a maximum score (60 points) before competing in Baku, following the first two stages. Having claimed victory in Cairo and securing fifth place in Cottbus, she banked the 30 points awarded to the top performing gymnasts not yet qualified.
Derwael returned to competition in Egypt mid-February, six months after her shoulder surgery.
At the end of the four World Cup stages, the top two gymnasts in each of the four apparatus who are not yet Olympic-qualified, receive an individual 'all-round' ticket to Paris 2024.
However, this is capped at one gymnast per apparatus per country. Gymnasts must participate in a minimum of three out of four stages to be eligible, with the three best results taken into account.
The final stage will be held in Doha (Qatar) from 17 to 20 April. After that, there will be one final qualifier for Belgian gymnasts at the European Championships in Rimini (Italy) from 1 to 5 May. To qualify, they must be the best in the overall ranking (four apparatus) of a nation not yet qualified or without its full quota of three places.
