Dutch women's gymnasts miss team final at Rotterdam worlds as Sanne Wevers retires

Team misses the final

The Dutch women's team did not make the team final at the world championships in Rotterdam, where only the top eight teams qualify. Its total of 158.029 points put it 11th in the latest update, after earlier reports from Monday, 19 October had it ninth while more subdivisions were still to compete. China topped the qualifying with 164.996 points, and the United States had led at 164.529 in an earlier update. Belgium's women also missed the team final and finished 16th.

Visser reaches two finals

Naomi Visser, 25, was the only Dutch woman to reach an individual final in Rotterdam. She qualified for the uneven bars final with 14.466 points, shared fourth, and for the all-around final with 53.965 points, eighth among the 24 qualifiers. An earlier update had placed her fifth in the all-around standings before more gymnasts had finished. The all-around final takes place on Friday, 23 October. Algeria's Kayla Nemour, the Olympic champion, was best on bars with 14.933 points and best in the all-around with 55.999 points.

Wevers ends her career

Sanne Wevers, 35, scored 13.266 points on beam and placed outside the top eight, so she will not contest the beam final. NOS reported that she did not fall but repeated one of her elements after an earlier deduction, which lowered her difficulty score. Wevers won Olympic gold on beam at Rio 2016 and made her debut at the world championships in 2007. She stopped after the Paris 2024 Olympics, returned ten months before Rotterdam to chase one more appearance at Ahoy, and Telegraaf reported she announced her retirement after qualifying. Speaking to NOS, she said:

Of course I would rather have made the final, that is what you fight for, but this gives me a lot of satisfaction.

Belgium and Lisa Vaelen

Belgian gymnast Lisa Vaelen, 22, had scored 13.816 points on vault on Sunday, which put her fourth in the interim standings. On Monday, 19 October, five more gymnasts beat that score, leaving her ninth and out of the vault final, a result that followed a fourth place at the previous world championships. She qualified for the all-around final as the 23rd of 24 finalists. Belgium's women finished 16th as a team and did not reach the team final.

Russia and the visa dispute

The Netherlands refused visas for three Russian gymnasts, among them reigning all-around world champion Angelina Melnikova, yet Russia still competed in Rotterdam. Telegraaf reported that Russia took part with a complete squad, while Trouw described a stripped-down team. In an earlier interim standing Russia was second with 163.662 points, behind the United States. Sports historian Paul Reef said he was surprised the Dutch government refused athlete visas on its own, which he considers at odds with the guidelines of World Gymnastics.

I am curious whether this will have consequences for the Netherlands when international sporting events are awarded.

Reef compared the move to Donald Trump's refusal in summer 2026 to admit Iran's football squad, which was later allowed in without its staff. He also pointed to last year's gymnastics world championships in Indonesia, where Israeli athletes were barred. The International Olympic Committee responded that Indonesia would not be awarded events for now, and the case went to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which reached a settlement in the week of 12 October 2026.