Good news for Nina Derwael. The gymnast has qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with a bronze medal at the International Gymnastics Federation World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan, after overcoming an injury and shoulder surgery that ruled her out of the 2023 Games. The Belgian will fulfil her dream of competing in Paris 2024. She recovered well and put in a strong performance in Baku last Sunday (10 March).

The Belgian achieved this in the balance beam competition. The Olympic champion made it onto the podium with Zhang Qingying from the People's Republic of China taking the lead with a score of 14.233, followed by Japan's Takezawa Kaoruko with 13.933. Derwael completed the podium with a score of 13.766.

"I am especially relieved," said Derwael, as reported by sporza.be and Olympics.com. "For me it is as much of an achievement to be in Paris as it was to win the gold medal in Tokyo. I'm very happy with my performance".

Derwael competed in the World Cup events in Cairo and Cottbus last month and this week in Baku. She has been recovering from injury. Her performances at the first two stops of the World Cup circuit last month earned her the maximum number of Olympic qualifying points available. With another solid performance in Baku, she had the opportunity to secure the quota.

Speaking about how she's recovering, Derwael added: "The shoulder's doing very well, rehab has gone smoothly. I'm doing almost everything now. We will now do the last elements and start the build-up," she told Olympics.com.

In the other women's final on Sunday, Austria's Charlize Moerz won the floor title. She scored 13.566 points. China's Ou Yushan was second with 13.533. Algeria's Kaylia Nemour was third with 13.266.