Back to the Olympics Newsfeed

Why the Top Gymnast in France Is Competing for Algeria

A bitter fight with the French gymnastics federation threatened the Olympic hopes of Kaylia Nemour. Dual nationality offered a way out.

Kaylia Nemour, with hands on hips, at a gym in Avoine, western France. She is a medal favorite in the uneven bars.

A bitter fight with the French gymnastics federation threatened the Olympic hopes of Kaylia Nemour. Dual nationality offered a way out.

Kaylia Nemour, with hands on hips, at a gym in Avoine, western France. She is a medal favorite in the uneven bars.

Reporting from Avoine, France

  • July 31, 2024

Now that she has mastered it, the uneven bars routine that the gymnast Kaylia Nemour has prepared for the Paris Olympics is a sight to behold: a fluid yet treacherous 30 seconds, so tightly woven with difficulty that it has made her a medal favorite in the event.