Flipping the Script: Kaylia Nemour's Journey to Greatness

Kaylia Nemour after winning Olympic gold on bars, courtesy of Olympics.com

Kaylia Nemour needs to be a household name.

The Algerian gymnast is the reigning Olympic and World uneven bars champion, and is making history and raising the bar with each routine.

While Nemour is the best in the world on the uneven bars and is one of the best bar workers of all time, her journey to the top of the elite gymnastics scene was far from typical and easy.

Nemour was born in France and began her gymnastics career there, representing the country from 2017 to 2021 at the junior level. She showed a lot of potential very early in her career, and in national competitions, she beat her senior opponents. She became age-eligible for senior competition in 2022. That year, her personal doctor cleared her to train again, after undergoing knee surgeries in 2021 for osteochondritis, but the French national team doctor wouldn't clear her. The French Gymnastics Federation made things even more difficult for the then-15-year-old as they wanted her to leave her club gym, which was only a mile from her home and the place she had been training at for her whole career, to train at their center in Paris. The federation changed its guidelines to make all Olympic hopefuls train at its two centers, and questioned Nemour's health under her coaches despite her doctor's clearance, so they cut funding to her home gym.

Like any young gymnast, Nemour had always dreamed of competing in the Olympics. With the complications and uncertainties placed on her career by the French Gymnastics Federation, she had to make a decision that would keep her dreams in reach and on her terms.

Nemour on beam at the 2024 Olympics, courtesy of The Sporting News

Nemour's paternal grandparents were born in Algeria, and she and her father have dual citizenship. She decided to change her nationality and represent Algeria. She was welcomed by Algerian gymnastics officials and had the approval of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG).

But the French Gymnastics Federation blocked her request to change nationalities, which made her ineligible to compete in FIG-sanctioned events, which included major competitions such as the African Championships and World Championships, for a year. Nemour needed to be able to compete in these competitions to qualify for the Olympics. In early 2023, though, an online petition in support of Nemour pressured the federation to release her, and French sports journalist Thierry Vildary released a report that exposed the federation's abuse of other gymnasts.

And so, Nemour was finally free to take control of her dreams and start making history.

Nemour on bars at the 2024 Olympics, courtesy of Reuters

In the 2023 World Championships, Nemour became the first gymnast from Algeria to qualify for an event final, when she qualified in third place for the uneven bars and twelfth for the all-around. Her eighth-place finish in the all-around final marked the highest placement at Worlds for a gymnast representing an African nation. She then won silver on the uneven bars, the first world medal for Algeria and Africa.

Then came the Olympics in her home country.

Team France would have benefited from having an all-around threat, especially with strengths on the uneven bars and balance beam, for their home 2024 Olympics. The team won the bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships, but struggled and couldn't make it past the qualifications round at the Olympics.

Nemour, though, shone at the Olympics and won gold on the uneven bars, the first Olympic medal for a gymnast from an African nation, and finished fifth in the all-around, the highest finish for a gymnast from Africa. She rounded out a powerful, historic, and iconic Olympic top five, finishing behind fellow gymnastics stars Simone Biles, Rebeca Andrade, Suni Lee, and Alice D'Amato.

Nemour on bars at the 2025 World Championships, courtesy of Jakarta Gymnastics 2025

Her dominance continued this year at the World Championships, where she won gold on bars and silver on beam. Nemour became the first gymnast from Africa to become a World Champion.

In the Medal Count, which awards points based on Olympic and World medals (with gold being three points, silver two, and bronze one), Nemour is the quickest gymnast to reach ten points since Simone Biles in 2014. I'd say that name puts her in great company! She also has more points alone from the past three years than France has since 1950. France's mistake was a huge and important gain for Algeria gymnastics.

And Nemour is just getting started.

Edited by: Kelly Cassette