DOHA: Arguably the best female European gymnast of her generation, Belgium’s Nina Derwael moved a step closer to seal an Olympic berth after she won the Uneven Bars gold at the 12th FIG ART Individual Apparatus World Cup here on Friday evening.
This was her third gold in as many visits to the Qatari capital after winning Uneven Bar titles in Doha World Cup and FIG World Championships last year.
“I’m really excited for the Olympics next year, but we are trying to qualify as a team. That will be our main target. We will do great at the Olympic Games in Tokyo,” Derwael told www.dohagym.com.
The Belgian beauty collected 15.033 points for the gold. She was followed by China’s Fan Yilin (14.933), who won the title in Melbourne earlier this year, and Anastasia Iliankova (RUS, 14.700).
“I will participate at the European Championships in April. Then I will see which World Cups I should take part,” said the 18-year-old, who became her country’s first world champion in gymnastics.
The teenager will be eyeing a double this time when she competes in the Balance Beam final on Saturday after topping the qualifiers with 13.566 points.