“When I got off the bar, I immediately thought about playing”: Nina Druel ends my dream weekend in Baku with bronze | More sports

“It's a really great weekend,” admitted Nina Druel after the beam final. She had already been freed from the pressure of getting an Olympic ticket for Paris on Friday, so she had to play less “safe” in the final and aim for her highest start value of 5.6 with more risks. Druel performed a stable and beautiful exercise: only the jump after the loose transfer did not work. But with 13,766 points, she achieved her best result on beam since her return to competition and won an impressive bronze medal. China's Qing Ying Zhang won the gold medal with 14,233 points.

“I can only look back with great satisfaction,” Derwell said after the crowning ceremony with the bronze around her neck. “In principle, my weekend was satisfactory enough last Friday. But it is very nice to be able to finish with bronze now.”

Druel admits that she was calmer before the final than in the qualifiers: “But I still wanted to show myself. Ulla also told me: ‘Show your beauty.’ Just show why you have an Olympic ticket.” Druel felt a lot of support for her mission from home This was reflected in the number of reactions after I received my Olympic ticket: “I received a lot of nice messages. It's nice to see that everyone is committed to this and supporting me as a team.”

Derwael also got her Olympic ticket in short order: three of the four World Cup finals were enough, so in principle she no longer had to travel to Doha in April – unless she wanted to develop an extra sense of competition. She has fond memories of Doha: in 2018 she won her first World Cup title on the uneven bars there.

But Druel's focus can now be fully focused on preparing for the Olympics. Or will she take a rest when she returns to Belgium tomorrow? “The thought process for games has already begun,” Druel says. “The moment I walked off the field after the final, I was already talking to Ola about the possible things we can add towards Paris. I might as well sleep now on Tuesday morning (laughs).”

In the coming months she can adjust her workout on beam to increase the level of difficulty, and it remains to be seen whether she can also return to her old level on the other equipment, floor, vault and her favorite bridge. The burden on her shoulders is greater on this bridge and she still has to put in a lot of work in training in a short time to be ready for the competition.

Before the Games, there is another major tournament on the calendar: the European Championships in early May in Rimini, Italy. The decision on Druel's participation has not yet been fully resolved. But this could be a moment for Derwael to measure himself on all counts against the European summit. Druel can also prove himself in a Belgian team.

On an individual level, there is still one Olympic ticket at stake at that European Championships, which other Belgian gymnasts such as Erika Pinksten and Myles Brassart can target. For them, this means the last chance to reach Paris 2024. Then someone must achieve the best overall result of all the gymnasts who have not yet qualified for the Games.