Kaylia Nemour of Algeria will be the first African gymnast to win an Olympic medal in Paris in 2024.

Kaylia Nemour, a teenage girl from Algeria, created history on Sunday by winning an Olympic gymnastics gold medal on the uneven bars with “the performance of her life.”

The 17-year-old French athlete won the competition ahead of Qiu Qiyuan of China, who defeated the Algerian in last year’s world championship, with American Sunisa Lee taking home the bronze.

Belgian Nina Derwael, the defending champion, came in fourth.

“I’m in complete shock; this is my life’s ambition.” I still find it hard to accept that I am the Olympic champion. Nemour remarked, “I’m stunned.

“It was my greatest dream—years of arduous labor, minute details. It is an honor for me to have received this award, not only for Algeria but also for myself.

With a career-best 15.700 points from Nemour’s breathtaking high-flying acrobatic performance, Qiu, also 17, secured the silver medal with 15.500.

The Algerian stated, “I really had to fight and gave the performance of my life. In qualifying, I had 15.600. When I saw her 15.500.”

“After everything that has happened, it’s surreal. I feel honored to have this medal, and it’s a relief.”

Two years ago, Nemour moved to compete for her father’s nation after the French federation forbade her from doing so due to a medical dispute.

Not long after turning 13, she experienced a growth spurt of 14 centimeters (5.5 inches) in a year, which resulted in a bone issue that needed surgery on both knees.

“Heavy road”
Nemour was dropped from the France squad and chose to represent Algeria at the world championship in October and the Olympic Games in Paris following a protracted legal fight that lasted several months.

Being the winner of this medal for Algeria makes me very delighted. She remarked, “I hope I made them proud.”

“The journey has been somewhat demanding. However, I’m happy with my performance and gold right now.

Since American gymnastics legend Simone Biles was unable to advance to the uneven bars final, Nemour was the clear favorite.

However, teammate Lee, who finished last, won bronze ahead of Derwael, a two-time world champion who was making a comeback following surgery.

“I felt like I had to perform well because I saw everyone else doing so well,” said 21-year-old Lee.

Yes, that is precisely what I did.

After winning team gold and the bronze in the all-around, her routine brought home 14,800 points and her third medal from Paris.

Qui felt “regrets” about losing out on the gold.

She remarked, “(Kaylia) did amazing today.” “Every action was incredibly fluid. She had the ideal routine. She performed considerably better than she had in the past.