Kaylia Nemour of Algeria delivered the nation’s first Olympic gold medal in gymnastics, placing collectively an exhilarating routine within the uneven bars closing, and making historical past within the course of.
Nemour is also the primary African gymnast to win an Olympic medal.
Nemour is French and nonetheless trains in France however switched to compete for Algeria following a dispute with the French gymnastics federation and Nemour’s membership of Avoine Beaumont, which has led the gymnast to embrace her father’s Algerian nationality.
The 17-year-old is a marvel on bars, swooping from one to the opposite with a collection of releases and complicated hand maneuvers which can be each athletically and technically demanding.
Nemour scored 15.7, tied for the very best rating of the meet in any occasion.
She’s the 2023 world uneven bars silver medalist and the 2023 African all-around champion.
China’s Qiyuan Qiu completed second with a rating of 15.500 and Staff USA’s Suni Lee gained the bronze with a 14.800.
Whereas Nemour competes beneath a special flag — she draped the Algerian banner behind her after clinching her victory — she was very a lot on house soil. A raucous ovation adopted after she gained the first-ever gymnastics medal for Algeria.
In girls’s gymnastics staff qualifying, Nemour had the highest rating on the uneven bars with a 15.600.
She completed thirty second in qualifying for the steadiness beam.