Do gymnastics
At the European Gymnastics Championships in Rimini, Italy, Nina Derwael made her comeback on the parallel bars, the apparatus on which she became Olympic champion three years ago. But she fell and things also went wrong on beam. Maellyse Brassart now seems to be on her way to an Olympic ticket.
For Nina Derwael (24) it was a return performance on the bridge in a minor key on Thursday. The Olympic champion had only performed parallel bars once in competition since Tokyo – at the 2022 World Championships in Liverpool, where she won bronze. The Truiense had tempered expectations for Rimini.
Her exercise was given a starting value of 5.8 and she seemed to be doing well, but shortly before the dismount she made a mistake: she lost control, had to let go of the bar and fell to the ground. That cost her a full point deduction. She had to start over for her dismount. The jury awarded her with 12.533, which seems insufficient for a place in the individual European Championship final.
Derwael is currently sixth on the cleared list, but three quarters of the gymnasts have yet to take their turn in Italy. A final with the best eight may not be possible. A little later, things also went wrong for Derwael on the beam, the apparatus on which she secured her ticket for the Olympic Games in Paris last spring. She lost her balance during her triple pirouette and fell. Here too, with her score (12.833), she does not seem to have to count on a final.
Excellent Brass Art
Maellyse Brassart is doing very well. The 22-year-old from Brussels is still fighting for the last remaining Olympic ticket in Rimini. She started with 13.100 on the vault and then scored 13.533 on bars and 12.933 on beam. She finished with a floor exercise of 12.366.
In the standings after a subdivision, she is second all-round. She only has to let Spain’s Alba Petisco go first, but she has already secured her Olympic ticket. Brassart is now on course to qualify for the Games. Three more groups with strong gymnasts will follow. Only a little after 8 p.m., after the fourth and final subdivision, does Brassart know whether she can actually go to Paris.
