Nemour leads All-Around qualification at Gymnastics Worlds as Team China surges ahead

Kaylia Nemour (ALG) took another step forward in her campaign to become the first African World All-Around champion in Gymnastics Monday in Rotterdam, qualifying to Friday’s women’s final with the highest score of the 24-gymnast field.

Qualification scores don’t count for anything more than seeding, but the result is confirmation of what many suspected before the World Championships began: the 19-year-old Algerian is the gymnast to beat. 

Despite small errors on Uneven Bars, where she is the reigning Olympic champion, and Balance Beam, where she won World silver last year, Nemour exited the qualification with the highest four-apparatus total: 55.999, slightly more than half a point ahead of Skye Blakely (USA), who competed with the U.S. in subdivision one on Sunday.

And there’s room to improve. Nemour was far from her best on Uneven Bars, where she had a form break and missed a connection mid-routine, as well as on Balance Beam, where she did not execute one of her leaps properly. But each time she stayed on the apparatus, avoiding big deductions.

“Am I in front?” a surprised-sounding Nemour asked reporters waiting to talk to her after she left the competition floor. Told yes, she smiled a trifle shyly, quietly pleased with the result. 

“Today I was looking for a successful performance and a better handle on things — dealing with the stress, the presence of a crowd in the stands, and the overall atmosphere of a competition,” said Nemour, who pronounced herself “very satisfied” with her result. “I made a few small mistakes, but I think it was better to make them now so that I can have a fix ready by the end of the week.”

“Dealing with these kinds of mistakes is part of the process; it helps ensure that if something like that happens during a competition, you don’t get completely thrown off,” she added.

Liudmila Roschina (WG2), Elena Colas (FRA), Ke Qinqin (CHN), and Zhang Qingying (CHN) rounded out the top six, all less than 1.5 points behind Nemour.

Twenty years later, China could win it all again

One by one, the world’s top teams did their best to surpass the 164.529 team score set by the USA in subdivision one, and through nine subdivisions not one of them succeeded. 

Then came China. Exactly 20 years after their first and only women’s team title, the Chinese tallied 164.996 to qualify for the team final in first place, threatening to end 16 years of U.S. dominance at the world level. 

The Chinese began well on Vault and Uneven Bars, but a lights-out rotation on Balance Beam, where World champion Zhang recorded 15.100, put them over the top. Needing only to average about 12.400 on Floor, the Chinese ultimately landed 0.467 ahead. 

“We just need to focus on ourselves and stay locked into our own performance,” said Zhang, who said she felt China could “definitely” do better in the final. 

“There were still some aspects tonight that weren’t quite perfect,” she added. “I’m hoping to execute my routines even better in the finals, to make them look even sharper.”

 

WG2 finished third after a solid overall performance, followed by Italy, Japan, Canada, and France. 

On the strength of strong performances from Flavia Saraiva and Lorrane Oliveira, Brazil grabbed the last spot to the final, edging Great Britain, whose early struggles on Balance Beam likely cost them the place.

Andrade in the hunt for history on Vault

Back at the World Championships for the first time since 2023, Rebeca Andrade (BRA) quickly showed that she hasn’t lost anything on her best apparatus. 

Andrade put on a vaulting clinic with her double-twisting Yurchenko (14.400) and floated roundoff, half on, front layout half twist off (14.266) for first place ahead of Asian Games champion Yeo Seojeong (KOR), who averaged 14.483 for a high handspring Rudi and Yurchenko double twist of her own.

The gold medallist on Vault in 2021 and 2023, Andrade could become only the second three-time women’s champion on the apparatus. Cheng Fei (CHN) won three titles between 2005 and 2007.

Andrade skipped competitions last year to help keep her mind and body fresh for future competitions. Turns out she missed it as much as gymnastics fans missed her.

“I love competing! I actually enjoy competing more than training, so yes, I missed it a lot,” Andrade said. “Being here is something indescribable; I don’t think I’ll ever find this feeling anywhere else,” she continued. “I just hope to stay happy and enjoy the competition even more. It’s all about savoring every moment, doing a bit more training, and feeling happier and happier so I can deliver my best performance.”

 

Zhang and teammate Qiu Qiyuan qualified 1-2 on Balance Beam with 15.100 and 14.966, respectively.  Reese Esponda (USA) maintained her top spot on Floor Exercise with 13.633, finishing ahead of Lia Redick (CAN), while Nemour’s 14.966 was the best score on Uneven Bars, over European champion Helen Kevric (GER), who scored 14.766.

Full results from World Championships qualification are here.