Artistic gymnast Caitlin Rooskrantz won a bronze medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
She claimed this grand prize after she gave it her all in the women’s uneven bars final.
“I feel so relieved to have won a medal for gymnastics and on my favourite apparatus, the uneven bars,” she said emphatically.
Still speaking on her achievement she said, “It is a wonderful feeling making history. Winning a medal against three of the top nations in the world of gymnastics is not easy but I’m very proud of myself and very grateful for my coaches and teammates who support me.”
The Olympic athlete, who trains at Newlands-based Johannesburg Gymnastics Centre, said her most challenging moment was the day before she won the bronze medal. “I made so many mistakes and even though I’m proud to have placed in the top 10, as an individual, I know I could have done even better.”
It took Rooskrantz months to prepare for the games and those months consisted of her training six days a week for 30 hours a week. She focused on bars but still worked hard on all four apparatus as she really wanted the team to place in the top five. They achieved fourth place, their best ever as a team.
Come 2026, at the next Commonwealth Games that are to be held in Australia, she hopes to improve her all-round ranking from ninth to top eight. “I would like to make the bar finals again so that I can try and win a medal again.”
Her next goal is to try and qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics that will be hosted in Paris.
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