Rooskrantz wins gold

Local gymnast and former Parktown Girl Caitlin Rooskrantz again turned heads by winning gold on uneven bars at the FIG Gymnastics World Cup in Cairo.

Speaking to the Gazette, Rooskrantz said, “Winning gold at the competition was amazing. It was a big goal for me and I had my eye set on it.”

This was Rooskrantz’s first big win following her performance at the Tokyo Olympics last year, where she and Naveen Daries were the first South Africans to represent their country in this sport at the Olympics in 15 years.

Reflecting on her performance in Cairo, Rooskrantz said, “This was a real confidence-booster for me as well as a stepping stone in order to get to the Commonwealth Games. It was reassuring and set me up for more success in the future.”

Unfortunately, during the qualification rounds, she took a fall in the floor routine, however, she was pleased with her performance on the bar and beam.

“This is the first time I’ve qualified for something other than bar, which is my strongest apparatus.”

“It was a big achievement. I’ve come a long way with beam. For a long time it was the apparatus I disliked the most but I knew I wasn’t bad at it. I just needed to work really hard on it. It was rewarding to see this result.”

Her next competition is the African Championships in Egypt in mid-May. At the end of May, she will again compete in another World Cup in Cairo.

Her goal in the upcoming competitions is to upgrade her skill in her bar routine in order to become more internationally competitive as well as make sure that all her performances in the other apps are solid and clean.

The local community is encouraged to support and track her progress by following her on Instagram @caitrooskrantz or the JGC Gymnastics Facebook page.

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