The 16-year-old athlete, trained in Indre-et-Loire, finds himself at the heart of an imbroglio with the French Gym Federation. Franco-Algerian, she wants to represent Algeria but the FFGym opposes it.
Two years ago, Kaylia Nemour had knee surgery. After eight months of rehabilitation, his surgeon allows him to return to the gym. But the doctor of the French Gymnastics Federation, he is not of this opinion. Too soon, too risky. In March 2022, he banned the teenager, hope of French gymnastics, from resuming training and competition. After months of blocking, the licensee of the Avoine-Beaumont club (Indre-et-Loire), who has dual nationality, therefore decides to join the Algerian Gym Federation.
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Algeria wants to integrate it and the International Federation gives the green light. But the French Federation opposes a new veto. However, without the consent of the FFGym, Kaylia Nemour, aged 16, is obliged to respect a waiting period of one year before being able to compete for Algeria. “No, the French Federation can’t do anything about it, assures President James Blateau, these are the international rules”. The gymnast has resumed club competition by registering as a foreign athlete in Avoine-Beaumont. But she still has to wait several months before putting on the Algerian leotard. And she cannot prepare for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
A conflict between his club and the FFGym?
Yet there are plenty of gymnasts who have changed their sporting nationality. And in particular French women who left, like her, in the Algerian team and who were able to compete very quickly for their new nation. Why is the case of Kayla Nemour problematic? According to her mother, Stéphanie Nemour, the gymnast is the collateral victim of a dispute between her club of Avoine-Beaumont and the FFgym. The bone of contention? Several gymnasts from Avoine refused to settle at INSEP, in Paris, or at the Saint-Etienne pole to prepare for the Games, preferring to stay in their club.
Congratulations my darling despite a missed connection, you achieve a magnificent 14,800 pts
Keep supporting Kaylia through the petition so she can qualify for the World Championships
Petition link https://t.co/DFlUSwxYSB pic.twitter.com/yRjPXxR9qf— Stephanie NEMOUR (@StephanieNemour) February 26, 2023
Since then, says Stéphanie Nemour, the French Federation has been hounding the club, its coaches and its training policy. The instance does not want to comment. And in the middle of this showdown, there is a young athlete who could have been the future of French gymnastics. Crowned French champion hopefuls on uneven bars in 2019, Kaylia Nemour scored 14.8 points during a competition last February. Italy’s Alice d’Amato was crowned European champion last week with a score of 14.4. A missed opportunity for the French gymnast.