Nina Derwael wins women's uneven bars gold, first for a Belgian woman

Nina Derwael made history for Belgium Sunday (1 August) winning the uneven bars in the first of three days of apparatus finals competition at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Her gold is the first of any colour for a Belgian woman in the sport at the Olympic Games.

"I don't know. I'm still dreaming, I think," she told Olympics.com afterward. "I was hoping so hard that I could pull my routine off and I'm just so incredibly happy that I did."

Second up in the final, Derwael delivered a 15.200, well clear of ROC's Anastasia Iliankova's 14.833. Olympic all-around champion Suni Lee of the United States was the bronze medallist with a 14.500.

Derwael came into Tokyo as the two-time defending world champion on the apparatus.

"I was like, 'Ok, you've done this twice at worlds now,'" she said. "I just really wanted that Olympic medal."

Many expected a battle between Derwael and Lee, who qualified 1-2 into the final. But Lee, who competed first in the final, was off kilter on her opening release move and broke a connection. That cost her valuable tenths on her difficulty score. Derwael held her nerve, despite topping out a handstand toward the end of the routine.

"I just tried to stay in my routine, do everything as usual, not change anything and just really stay in my bubble," she explained, gold medal around her neck. "That really helps calm me down."