Olympic gold medalist Nina Derwael revisits defining moments of her career as she announces retirement from gymnastics

Belgian gymnast Nina Derwael revisited the defining moments of her career as she bid farewell to the sport. The 25-year-old gymnast had won a gold medal for Belgium in the uneven bars event at the Tokyo Olympics.

Derwael uploaded snaps from her 12-year-long international career on her Instagram profile. These included her performance at the Tokyo Olympics and the European Championships held at Leipzig in Germany this year, where she represented Belgium for the last time.

Derwael captioned the Instagram post:

"Thank you gymnastics, it’s been my pleasure 🫶"

Nina Derwael was born to a sporting family, where her father pursued soccer, and her mother played handball and table tennis. Even though gymnasts were not allowed to train below the age of three years, Derwael volunteered for gymnastics when she was only two years old.

Derwael went to Ghent to pursue gymnastics full time, where she also enrolled in a boarding school. She made her international debut at the Elite Gym Massilia in Marseille, France, in 2013. The then-13-year-old gymnast finished eighth in the all-around event, while the Belgian team finished seventh.

Nina Derwael has four World Championship medals, one European Games gold medal, five European Championship medals, and an Olympic gold medal to her credit. She represented Belgium at the Rio Olympics in 2016, the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, and the Paris Olympics in 2024.

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Nina Derwael opens up about her major career decision

Nina Derwael performing at the European Championships 2025 [Image Source: Getty]

Nina Derwael opened up about her decision to retire from the sport at the age of 25. In a conversation with the Belga News Agency, the gymnast remarked:

"I’ve reached what I wanted and was able to reach. I’ve been able to prove what I had in me. It made me realize it can’t really get better. If I want to play a role at a World Championship or Olympic Games again, I’d have to push my body even harder and longer, and I no longer want to take that risk."

The gymnast added that she has had a beautiful journey throughout her 12-year-long career, saying:

"In recent weeks, my mind kept asking: ‘Isn’t it enough? Is it worth putting my body on the line?’ My conclusion: it’s been enough. It has been beautiful."

Nina Derwael had represented Belgium at the Paris Olympics last year. She qualified for the uneven bars finals, but missed out on the podium finish to Sunisa 'Suni' Lee from the USA, who scored better than the Belgian gymnast in terms of execution to clinch the bronze medal.