At the European Championships in Glasgow, Belgian women’s team withdrew from the team final in order to give gymnasts some rest and not to risk additional injuries. The controversial decision drew a lot of criticism but, according to Nina Derwael, it was one that the whole team weighed in and ultimately it worked out well as Belgium finished the competition with three medals in the individual event finals. Nina Derwael who won gold on bars and silver on beam talked to Gymnovosti after the event finals.
Q: What were your goals for the event finals?
A: I was really ready for bars and that was my main goal but then I got into the beam final and I just wanted to do great. I was really focused on bars because that’s my favorite event.
Q: You were the defending champion on bars, did you expect to win again?
A: I knew what I needed to do and I was happy when my routine came through.
Q: How did you feel when you learned that you wouldn’t compete in the team final?
A: It’s a decision that all of us made – the whole team together with the medical staff and the coaches because it’s very important for us to focus on Worlds. We have only a few gymnasts in Belgium, so we knew that for us and for the team it would be the smartest decision to not compete in the team final and to focus on the event finals and then to focus on Worlds.
Q: Now you have a bars medal and a beam medal, what’s your goal for the next year’s Euros? Perhaps, a floor medal?
A: I think for a floor medal I need to upgrade a little bit more. I’ll keep working in the gym. I would really like to have a team medal though.
Q: You keep improving, what do you do to achieve that?
A: I really focus on my goals in the gym, I know what my goal is and I work towards it.
Photo: Russian Artistic Gymnastics Federation
Gymnovosti is able to provide coverage of the European Championships thanks to the support from our patrons on Patreon.
