Women’s qualification at the 2018 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Doha, Qatar, in October 2018 was spread over 11 subdivisions in two days. Simone Biles led the overall standings by a wide margin, but several European gymnasts produced results that shaped the rest of the championships.
Derwael on bars
Belgium’s Nina Derwael competed in the very first subdivision, often seen as a disadvantage. She scored 15.033 on uneven bars, the event on which she was reigning European champion, and that score was still the best after all 11 subdivisions. She also qualified for the beam final and placed fourth in the all-around ranking.
Other European highlights
– Sweden’s Jonna Adlerteg, European bars silver medallist that summer, qualified for the bars final. – Germany and the Netherlands placed among the top ten teams, and Germany advanced to the team final, with Elisabeth Seitz third in bars qualification.
Why it matters
Doha was also the first qualifying step for the Tokyo Olympics, so team places counted for more than medals.
Related: our archive entry on the 2018 women’s Europeans in Glasgow.
