April 2025 Issue! Kaylia Nemour + SMITH&SAINT + MacKenzie Estep

01 Apr April 2025 Issue! Kaylia Nemour

Posted at 12:29h in 2025 U.S. Classic, 2025 Xfinity U.S. Championships, Issue Previews, News & Features, Paris 2024 by Christy Sandmaier 0 Comments

By Christy Sandmaier

Vice President & Co-Publisher

Features Sneak Peek!

Our April 2025 issue features Olympic Champion Kaylia Nemour!

From Christopher Korotky:

As Co-Publisher Christy Sandmaier and I were preparing for our trip to the Paris Olympic Games last year, we talked about which routines and athletes we were most excited to see on sport’s greatest stage. Among the very top of that list was Kaylia Nemour and her stunning set on uneven bars. The year before, as we watched her train and compete at the 2023 World Championships in Antwerp, I remember thinking that her set was perhaps one of the most breathtaking pieces of gymnastics I had ever seen in person. As stunning as it appears on television and on social media, the routine is infinitely more astonishing in person. The precision, the timing, the way she makes the most intricate of combos look effortless is just a thing of beauty.

Her gymnastics and her aspirations really harken back to the eras of gymnastics where ROV – Risk, Originality and Virtuosity – ruled the day. I so admire gymnasts who go well beyond the standard to create and hone something that is truly a signature set, one that will stand the test of time and be remembered for its incredible uniqueness. Nemour does just that. It goes well beyond sport or a score. It’s art-in-motion.

Her name is forever recorded in the history books as the 2024 Olympic Champion on uneven bars. Her routine is forever sealed in our memories. The inspiration from her determination, grit and elegance is forever etched in our hearts. And in this issue, Christy shares more of her story and the impact she’s had on the world of gymnastics and beyond. I know you’re going to love it!

In a historic Olympic Games that fulfilled so many dreams, solidified so many legacies, and told so many personal stories of redemption, Kaylia Nemour’s own journey to gold in 2024 was absolutely fitting of a Hollywood script with the perfect Hollywood ending. She imagined greatness on the biggest stage in the world from a young age and overcame so much to fulfill her dreams under tremendous pressure.

Illuminated within the magic spotlight only an Olympics can create, and with all eyes on her, Nemour stood atop the medal podium inside Bercy Arena with her uneven bars gold around her neck watching the Algerian flag rise into history, her eyes full of wonder, gratitude, and pure emotion. “I am very, very, very happy with what I was able to do today,” she said following the medal ceremony. “It was my ultimate dream, years of work and hard work, details. I am really honored to have been able to win this medal, it’s a first for me and for Algeria, too.”

It was a storybook finish to a captivating headline. And in many ways, only the beginning for her star to shine at its brightest — her story uniting us all in a way only an Olympic Champion’s triumph over extraordinary circumstances can. In 2023, Nemour, who was born in central France in Saint-Benoît-la-Forêt, wasn’t certain she’d even be able to make it to the World Championships, let alone the Olympic Games.

The Lineup

24 Heart of Gold! Kaylia Nemour Soars Into 2025

BY CHRISTY SANDMAIER

Capturing hearts around the world, 2024 Olympic Champion Kaylia Nemour of Algeria turns her ultimate dream into gold.

36 Metroplex On the Rise!

BY NATE SALSMAN

Guiding Ashlee Sullivan and Zoey Molomo, Metroplex head coach Marnie Futch is orchestrating a program based on creating high-level gymnasts and building well-rounded, confident people.