Gymnastics
She made her breakthrough as a fifteen-year-old at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, but they also turned out to be her highlight: Jutta Verkest (18) quits gymnastics. She did not make the progress she was looking for.
“Every story has an end, but in life every ending is also a new beginning.” With those words, Jutta Verkest announced her retirement from top sport today on Instagram. At just 18 years old, she called a halt to her gymnastics career. “The decision to step aside from the sport that was such a big part of my life was both difficult and exciting,” he said. “My adventure had many highs and lows, victories and problems.”
Verkest (Gymflex Mechelen) has been a fixture in the Belgian women’s team in recent years. The highlight of her career was without a doubt the Olympic Games in Tokyo. As the youngest of all participants, she reached the all-round final (where she finished 23rd out of 24 participants). Together with Nina Derwael, Lisa Vaelen and Maellyse Brassart, she also finished eighth in the team final.
Verkest was subsequently unable to match that level. She entered puberty, with all the physical and mental changes that come with it. “I had a difficult period after the Games,” she admitted in October last year. “Tokyo was a euphoric moment. I didn’t expect that and didn’t know how to deal with it. I had achieved my goal. I was no longer happy with what I was doing. My body also changed completely. Things didn’t go as I wanted during training. I was 15 and I thought: I’ve been through it all, what am I still doing here?”
Verkest fought back, but did not make the progress she was looking for. She seemed to be stuck on the spot and failed to qualify for the Olympic Games next summer in Paris. Because the Los Angeles 2028 Games are too far away in her opinion, she is now quitting. Her last competitive match was the Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp at the end of 2023, which turned out to be a flop for the Belgian women’s team.
