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Laura Waem
Belgian artistic gymnast (born 1997) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Laura Waem (born 5 August 1997) is a Belgian former artistic gymnast. She represented Belgium at the 2016 Summer Olympics and is a two-time World Championships all-around finalist.
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Gymnastics career
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2012
Waem joined Belgium's junior national team in 2012.[2] She competed at the International Gymnix in Montreal and placed 17th in the all-around. Then in the event finals, she finished fifth on the balance beam and eighth on the floor exercise.[3] She then competed at the Junior European Championships, helping the Belgian team place 12th.[4]
2013
Waem became age-eligible for senior international competitions in 2013.[5] She made her senior international debut at the International Gymnix, finishing 12th in the all-around.[2] There, she also finished sixth on the uneven bars and fourth on the balance beam.[6] She qualified for the uneven bars final at the Anadia World Challenge Cup, finishing seventh.[7] She placed 11th in the all-around at the Dutch Invitational.[8] She then competed at the World Championships in Antwerp and qualified for the all-around final alongside Gaelle Mys, marking the first time two Belgian gymnasts qualified for the World all-around final.[9] In the final, Waem finished 21st.[10]
2014
Waem began the season at the International Gymnix and finished sixth in the all-around, seventh on the uneven bars, and eighth on the balance beam.[11] At the Belgian Championships, she finished second in the all-around to Lisa Verschueren.[12] She then finished fourth in the all-around at a friendly meet against France and Romania.[13] At the European Championships, she helped Belgium qualify for their second-ever European team final and finish seventh.[14] She then finished fourth in the all-around at the Novara Cup, and Belgium placed third as a team.[15]
Waem competed at the 2014 World Championships and helped the Belgian team finish 11th, which at the time was the best-ever World Championships team result for Belgium.[16] Waem also qualified for her second consecutive World all-around final and finished 24th.[10]
2015
Waem only competed on the uneven bars at a friendly meet against Sweden and Austria, finishing third behind teammates Cindy Vandenhole and Lisa Verschueren.[17] She then competed in the all-around at the Novara Cup, finishing 13th, and Belgium placed third as a team.[18] She competed at the World Championships alongside Vandenhole, Verschueren, Julie Croket, Rune Hermans, and Gaelle Mys. They finished 11th as a team and qualified for the 2016 Olympic Test Event. She did not qualify for a third all-around final due to a fall off the uneven bars.[19]
2016
Waem began the season at the International Gymnix, helping Belgium win the team competition and finishing fourth on the uneven bars.[20] She then helped Belgium win a friendly meet against Romania and Germany and placed second in the all-around behind teammate Axelle Klinckaert.[21] At the Olympic Test Event, Waem helped Belgium finish third and qualify as a full team for the Olympic Games for the first time since 1948.[2][22] She competed as a guest at the Dutch Championships and won a gold medal on the uneven bars.[23]
Waem was selected to represent Belgium at the 2016 Summer Olympics alongside Klinckaert (later replaced by reserve Rune Hermans),[24] Senna Deriks, Nina Derwael, and Gaelle Mys.[22] The team placed 12th in the qualification round.[25]
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Post-gymnastics
Waem tore her Achilles tendon in 2017 and subsequently announced her retirement to focus on her pharmaceutical science studies.[2] In 2020, Waem published an open letter detailing her experience of abuse in gymnastics.[26][27]
Competitive history
References
External links
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