Olympic Spot Gymnast Caitlin
As shared by @caitrooskrantz/Instagram

Caitlin Rooskrantz has secured her Olympic spot for Paris 2024 after a stellar performance at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships!

 

Global (03 October 2023)Caitlin Rooskrantz has left an incredible mark at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, so much so that she secured her Olympic spot for Paris 2024! This will be her second time representing South Africa at the Olympics.

The qualifying event, which took place in Antwerp, Belgium, over the past week, saw the top Artistic gymnasts from around the world competing for the coveted World Champs titles, as well as spots for the Olympic Games.

In a heartfelt message, Caitlin expressed her gratitude:

“By God’s grace, I have qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. It’s been a long month of competing in three different countries, with its share of ups and downs. Not everything went exactly as planned, but we are coming home with an Olympic ticket, and that’s all that matters! Thank you to my incredible team, and I’m blessed to be part of such a special group.”

Ilser Pelser, National Coach of the Senior Women’s Artistic team, shared her pride and provided insight as to how long of a process earning an Olympic spot requires above and beyond talent:

“Gymnasts had to qualify through various international competitions over a three-year period, making it a challenging journey to secure a spot at the games and making it even more remarkable that Caitlin managed to secure a ticket given the hurdles she overcame. This is Caitlin’s highest total yet at a World Championships, and we are incredibly proud of her.”

Don Jurgens, the President of Gymnastics South Africa, added:

“Words can hardly describe how immensely proud I am as President today. These girls and their coaches have worked very hard to achieve their dreams. 

“Now it is up to us to make sure they get all the help they need to get to the next level.

“This is the second time that Caitlin has automatically qualified at a World Championship due to her outstanding performances over the previous three years. South Africa also has an opportunity to qualify one more South African gymnast at the African Championships that will be held next year.”

In more good news, Team South Africa also achieved a historic 19th place finish at the World Championships—another moment of history for Artistic Gymnasts following their crowning as the champs of the continent.

Under new qualification rules set by the FIG, only one team from Africa could qualify to compete as a team. Team South Africa’s unity, hard work, and clean routines propelled them to this remarkable achievement, with all gymnasts competing in their very first World Championships—one for the South African history books.

The South African Women’s Artistic Gymnastics team that competed at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships:

  • Caleigh Anders
  • Naveen Daries
  • Shante Koti
  • Garcelle Napier
  • Caitlin Rooskrantz

“In cycles, countries could decide themselves whether their federation would like to send a team, hence using an internal qualification process. Our last team finish was 28th. This year, the African champions broke into the top 20 in the world, finishing in 19th place, with 16 for 16 clean routines. At this level, under this type of pressure, with three gymnasts competing in their very first World Championships, this truly is a remarkable achievement,” Pelser expressed of the big milestone.

Looking to the future of gymnastics in South Africa, Jurgens urged more support so that new generations can be inspired to continue the history-making trend.

“We need the support of the general public and corporate South Africa now more than ever to further nurture this talent and take South African gymnastics to new heights and inspire future generations of gymnasts and continue to make history in this sport.”

A massive congratulations to the team and Caitlin, who have just given South Africa something incredible to root for!


Sources: Supplied
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Ashleigh Nefdt is a writer for Good Things Guy.

Ashleigh's favourite stories have always seen the hidden hero (without the cape) come to the rescue. As a journalist, her labour of love is finding those everyday heroes and spotlighting their spark - especially those empowering women, social upliftment movers, sustainability shakers and creatives with hearts of gold. When she's not working on a story, she's dedicated to her canvas or appreciating Mother Nature.

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