She twirls from one bar to another. Defying gravity. Playing with gravity. Body outstretched from arms to tiptoes, face frozen in concentration, she goes through difficulties, mixing speed and amplitude without ever losing control. When she flies over a bar, letting go to better cling to it afterwards, Kaylia Nemour seems as light as a feather. As if, during the thirty seconds that her movement lasts, she no longer had the slightest weight on her shoulders.
Her affinity for bars is no longer a secret, but Kaylia Nemour’s ability to tame them nevertheless seems to be mystical when she unfolds her elements with grace and dynamism, as she did during of his club’s Top 12 match, Avoine-Beaumont, against Hyères, Saturday 25 February. With apparent but necessarily deceptive ease. The result of hours and hours of hard work.
Record broken with a score of 14.8 on bars
Which paid on Saturday. Because if she had ” magnifying glass “ her movement to Combs-la-Ville, two weeks before (6.4 difficulty, 13.966 final score), Kaylia Nemour succeeded this time (6.5 difficulty). “My best mark was 14.7, I broke my record with a 14.8. I’m happy, even if there were still some mistakes. »
“It’s a satisfaction to see her succeed in this movement, smiled his trainer, Marc Chirilcenco. It just lacks a two-tenths link, so she has a score of 15 in her hands, which should open the doors to all the finals of major competitions. »
Dismissed from the biggest competitions until July
But the problem is there. This invisible weight on the shoulders of Kaylia Nemour, the one that disappears when she swirls above the bars but which darkens her daily life. By his change of nationality (from French to Algerian), realized with a heavy heart because of the conflict between his Avoine-Beaumont club and the French Gymnastics Federationthe 16-year-old girl cannot take part in so-called “FIG” competitions, that is to say under the aegis of the International Gymnastics Federation, during the year following this change, i.e. until 20 July 2023. However, the FIG competitions are quite simply the biggest international events. “There are still almost five months to wait. It’s a long time, five months, she breathes. It annoys me a bit. »
Kaylia Nemour cannot therefore take part in the African championships next May, which qualify for the world championships. Which can themselves give a ticket for the Olympic Games 2024… A situation all the more frustrating that, according to his mother, Stéphanie Nemour (also president of the club), and his trainer, it would be enough of a letter from the president from the FFGym to the FIG to release it from this restrictive clause.
“Kaylia remains a hard-working 16-year-old just waiting to live her dream like all the other athletes. She has already been forced to say goodbye to that of representing France…”, recalls Stephanie Nemour.
A petition to make the FFGym bend
This is why Kaylia’s mother launched an online petition (1), to try to persuade the FFGym to write this letter. Which had collected nearly 4,000 signatures, this Tuesday, February 28. “I said to myself that everyone had to know what was going on and show the FFGym that Kaylia is supported. We have to fight for her because she really deserves it. Me, she amazes me every day. She has a pretty incredible strength of character to hold on to such a level while not really being able to express herself in competition. »
In the meantime, Kaylia Nemour is against bad luck with a good heart. “I’m happy because I can compete in the Top 12. And then, I feel supported by everyone. I hope that the petition will continue to grow to be able to do the African championships. »
“This constraint has become an asset”
Her coach also tries to draw something positive from a situation that is necessarily difficult for the young girl to live with. “It’s complicated to tell a child to be patient. Especially since it will miss good stages in its preparation. But his goal remains the 2024 Olympics and we have learned to be resilient, to take the time. Because in the end, time plays in our favour: it allows us to work on new elements. This constraint has become an asset. It will lack a bit of experience, but that doesn’t worry me too much, because when it comes to getting started, it’s quite exceptional. »
It is also time that will tell if the whole world will have the chance to admire Kaylia Nemour twirling above the bars during the Paris Olympics.
