The 49th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships officially starts today, in Stuttgart (GER) 4-13 October.

World Championships are one of the major opportunities for athletes and teams to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo (JPN) in what is a complicated qualifying system. At the end of the qualification competition in Stuttgart; the nine remaining team places will be awarded along with 12 places for men and 20 for women, which will be decided by the rankings in the All-Around competition. Additionally, the three top gymnasts in each apparatus final in Stuttgart, excluding those from qualified teams, will also book their Olympic ticket.

Making her debut in this competition is Tan Sze En, our only female competitor flying the flag for Singapore. She currently trains in the United States of America, at Legacy Elite Gymnastics, with her coach Anna Li, who herself had competed at the 2011 World Championships as well as being an alternate for the USA team at the 2012 London Olympics. Coming back from a major shoulder surgery right after the 2018 Asian Games, Sze En has had a solid preparation leading into this competition, training in Paris (INSEP – National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance), as well as in Nijmegen, with fellow teammate Nadine Joy Nathan.

Sze En will be competing in subdivision 12, the last subdivision for the qualifying competition, which is also packed with the stars of gymnastics, in particular, Simone Biles, who will be performing two new signature moves. Subdivision 12 will be held on 5 October, at 8:00pm Germany time. Catch all the live action here at https://www.youtube.com/user/figchannel and send some love to Sze En as she gets ready to hit the stage!