Noah Kuavita

Noah Kuavita
Kuavita at the 2022 European Championships
Personal information
Born (1999-07-28) 28 July 1999 (age 25)
Borgerhout, Belgium
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)[1]
Gymnastics career
DisciplineMen's artistic gymnastics
Country represented Belgium
ClubSilok Deurne
Head coach(es)Koen Van Damme, Bram De Schepper

Noah Kuavita (born 28 July 1999)[2] is a Belgian artistic gymnast. He represented Belgium at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Early life

Kuavita was born on 28 July 1999 in Borgerhout. His parents emigrated from Angola in 1994 during the Angolan Civil War.[3] He began gymnastics when he was four years old.[4]

Career

Kuavita qualified for the horizontal bar final at the 2018 European Championships and finished eighth.[5] He competed with the Belgian team that finished 19th at the 2018 World Championships.[6] He also competed at the 2019 World Championships and finished 18th with the Belgian team.[7]

Kuavita competed at the 2021 World Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan. He qualified for the all-around final alongside teammate Luka van den Keybus, marking the first time two Belgian male gymnasts qualified for the all-around final at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.[8] He finished 20th with a total score of 79.598.[9] After the World Championships, he competed at the 2021 Koper World Challenge Cup. On the parallel bars, he debuted an original skill that was then named after him in the Code of Points.[10]

Kuavita qualified for the horizontal bar final at the 2022 European Championships and finished seventh.[11] He then competed with the Belgian team at the 2022 World Championships, helping them place 16th.[12]

Kuavita and the Belgian team finished eighth at the 2023 European Championships.[13] He then competed at the 2023 World Championships in Antwerp. As the highest-placing gymnast on parallel bars who did not already qualify through the team or all-around, he qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games.[14][15]

TV Appearance

In 2018, Kuavita and teammate Jimmy Verbaeys competed on Belgium's Got Talent and reached the finals.[3]

Eponymous skill

Kuavita has a skill on the parallel bars that is named after him in the Code of Points.[16][10]

Apparatus Name Description Difficulty[a] Added to Code of Points
Parallel bars Kuavita Double salto backwards with half turn to upper arm F 2021 Koper World Challenge Cup
  1. ^ Valid for the 2022–2024 Code of Points

References

  1. ^ "Noah Kuavita". Team BelGym. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  2. ^ "52nd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Antwerp (BEL), 30 September – 8 October 2023 Men Entry List by NOC" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. 29 September 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Young Belgians have certainly got talent". International Gymnastics Federation. 21 October 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  4. ^ "Kuavita Noah". International Gymnastics Federation. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Senior Horizontal Bar Final Results" (PDF). European Union of Gymnastics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-08-13. Retrieved 2018-02-20.
  6. ^ "48th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Doha (QAT), 25 October - 3 November 2018 Men's Team Quaification" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. 25 October 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  7. ^ "49th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Stuttgart (GER), 4 October - 13 October 2019 Men's Team Quaification" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. 6 October 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  8. ^ "Luka Van den Keybus et Noah Kuavita en finale du concours général" [Luka Van den Keybus and Noah Kuavita in the all-around final]. BX1 (in French). 20 October 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  9. ^ "50th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Kitakyushu (JPN), 18 October - 24 October 2021 Men's All-Around Final" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. 22 October 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Five new elements named for their creators in Men's Gymnastics in 2021". International Gymnastics Federation. 14 December 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  11. ^ Crumlish, John (21 August 2022). "Greece's Petrounias wins sixth continental still rings gold as European Championships conclude". International Gymnast Magazine. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  12. ^ "51st FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Liverpool (GBR), 29 October - 6 November 2022 Men's Team Qualification" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. 31 October 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  13. ^ Van Heuverswijn, Laurens (11 April 2023). "Belgisch mannenturnteam heeft WK-ticket beet". Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  14. ^ "Noah Kuavita qualifié pour les Jeux Olympiques de Paris" [Noah Kuavita qualified for the Paris Olympics]. Fédération francophone de Gymnastique (in French). 8 October 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  15. ^ "Calm amidst a storm of attention, Biles sails smoothly to two more World golds". International Gymnastics Federation. 8 October 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  16. ^ "2022 – 2024 Code of Points Men's Artistic Gymnastics" (PDF). International Gymnastics Federation. p. 123. Retrieved 29 December 2023.