Belgian gold medalist Nina Derwael retires from gymnastics
July 15 (UPI) -- Belgian gymnast and newlywed Nina Derwael, who won gold in the uneven bars at the 2020 Summer Olympics, is retiring from the sport, she announced Tuesday on social media.
"Thank you gymnastics, it's been my pleasure," Derwael wrote on Facebook, Instagram and X.
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Derwael, 25, first represented Belgium at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She also competed in 2024.
In addition to her gold medal performance in the uneven bars, she also helped lead Belgium to its first-ever team final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, which took place in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Belgians finished eighth. The Russian Olympic Committee, Team USA and Great Britain took the podium in that event.
"To be the greatest in a sport where the whole world spins in pursuit of perfection, you built a legacy that will last forever," Team Belgium said in a statement.
Nina Derwael helped Belgium reach its first-even gymnastics team final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI
"You led Belgium to its first-ever Olympic team final. You were the first Belgian gymnast to step onto the podium at the European Championships, World Championships, and Olympic Games. 'The Derwael' will be etched forever into the history of gymnastics. We've had the privilege to watch you fly, twist, and turn to all these golden moments.
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"Thank you, Nina! We will miss you, that's for sure."
Gymnast Nina Derwael represented Belgium at the Olympics three times. File Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI
Silver medalist Anastasiia Iliankova (L), gold medalist Nina Derwael (C) and bronze medalist Sunisa Lee took the podium in the uneven bars at the 2020 Summer Olympics in 2021 in Tokyo. File Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI
Derwael was a two-time gold medalist and two-time bronze medalist in the uneven bars at the World Championships. She won four gold medals at the European Championships, including three in the uneven bars and one on balance beam.
She also won a silver medal on beam at the 2018 European Championships and the gold on beam and bars in May at the 2025 European Championships.
Derwael also announced that she was married Saturday in Averbode, Belgium.
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UPI
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an hour ago
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
James Guy hopes to make a splash at another Olympic Games
James Guy is targeting a trip to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles after admitting he has never been happier in his swimming career. The 29-year-old, a six-times Olympic medallist, will head into the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore with one eye firmly on LA and retirement currently far from his thoughts. Guy said: 'Yes, 100 per cent LA is in the plan. Obviously I'll be 32, turning 33, but I don't look like I'm going to change much in the next couple of years unless something drastically goes wrong.' A member of the Great Britain 4×200 metres freestyle team which retained its Olympic title in Paris last summer after taking gold at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Guy is one of the nation's most decorated swimmers. Asked what he still had to tick off, he replied: 'Nothing really. I would say just in terms of where I am right now, I'm the happiest I've probably ever been in terms of my swimming career. 'That's why I'm still going, obviously, back on my best again, hitting personal best times. 'I think in terms of athletes of my age, it doesn't really happen that often, so to be where I am right now, really enjoying the sport, I'll try to do for as long as I can.' The British quartet of Guy, Tom Dean, Duncan Scott and Matt Richards face stern competition for top spot on the podium in Singapore with the Americans in impressive form at their trials. They will walk out having been lauded by the crowds at Wimbledon having been invited along with their partners into the Royal Box for the middle Sunday of the tournament. Guy said: 'We had a really good day, had some great seats. The food was fantastic – we ate scones and food all day and had lunch with the chairwoman of the club. I was talking to her and she said that Tom Cruise was in my seat the day before, so it was actually really, really cool.' Asked if he and his team-mates should have been eating scones as they prepares for the World Championships, he replied with a smile: 'I know. I only had a couple. Matt had more than me – he probably didn't tell you that, did he? I had two or three.'
