Gymnastics: why champion Kaylia Némour chose Algeria over France

Kaylia Némour is a trailblazer in her country. She will forever be the first Algerian woman to be crowned uneven bars world champion, at the Gymnastics World Cup in Cottbus, Germany. The 17-year-old Algerian outclassed the field with 15.433 points, well clear of Belarus's Alena Tsitavets (2nd/14.100 pts) and Belgium's Maellyse Brassart (3rd-13.700 pts).

Némour had already signalled her arrival in October 2023 in Antwerp, where she won silver, becoming the first African and Algerian gymnast to win a medal at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships. The Algerian scored 15.033, behind China's Qiu Qiyuan (15.100 pts) and ahead of American Shilese Jones (14.766 pts).

This year, she finished on the top step of the podium. A rising star of world gymnastics, particularly on the uneven bars, Kaylia Némour could have competed for France. Born and trained in France, notably at the Avoine-Beaumont club, she chose Algeria instead. The reason? A disagreement between her club and the French Gymnastics Federation.

Algerian sensation Kaylia Nemour 🇩🇿 masters gravity in this extraordinary performance to take the Uneven Bars title at the #FIGWorldCup in Cottbus. Nemour, 17, is one of the few gymnasts to compete a routine with a difficulty rating of 7.0 or higher. #Gymnastics pic.twitter.com/xJqg3ccd9q

— FIG (@gymnastics) February 24, 2024

France rues it, Algeria on cloud nine

It all goes back to 2021, when the young gymnast had knee surgery because of an abnormality in the growth plates of her bones and cartilage. That led to tension between the Avoine-Beaumont club and the French gymnastics federation, which saw excessive training for an athlete who was then only 14. After a long rehabilitation, the club doctor cleared her to resume training while the federation doctor said no. The FFG argued for a precautionary approach. Kaylia Nemour and those around her saw it as holding back her progress and sidestepped it by opting for Algerian nationality.

“We understood that the club did not want this oversight, this eye of the Federation, so they preferred to change country. Everyone will have to live with that,” French Gymnastics Federation president James Blateau said a few months ago, in comments reported by Ouest France. “But as far as we are concerned, we stand by our decision. That is, when someone's body is at risk, we considered this was what had to be done. It is not against the young girl, nor against the club or whatever else, it is for her health.”

Since then, the gymnast has kept improving, as these two medals at the World Championships show. And France may well have regrets. “Since she has always trained in France and has always lived here, I would have preferred her to be with us in the French team, but that is not the case,” James Blateau told AFP before the World Championships.

Algeria, meanwhile, is the winner in this story. The land of the Fennecs, absent from the medal table at the last Olympics in Tokyo, has a good chance of winning a medal in Paris, largely thanks to its star Kaylia Némour. She is one of the favourites on the uneven bars in Paris.

Warm congratulations to gymnast 🇩🇿 @Kaylianemour on the #Médaille_DOR🥇in the uneven bars event at the Gymnastics World Cup in #Cottbus 🇩🇪. Bravo #Championne 👏#Algérie #DiasporaDz #Gymnastics #FIGWorldCup #JOParis2024 pic.twitter.com/RdkUGneL4L

— Embassy of Algeria in France 🇩🇿 (@ambalgerieparis) February 25, 2024