As we gear up for the African Artistic Gymnastics Championships, the Olympics shone the spotlight on South African gymnasts and one of our star’s abilities to bring joy to the global stage.
Global (26 May, 2023) — With the African Artistic Gymnastics Championships just beginning (South Africa is hosting for the first time in almost a decade!) all eyes are on the star athletes. But, the Olympics gave a shoutout to South African champion Caitlin Rooskrantz for another reason: her ability to spur joy, to get real and to share laughter despite being a serious champ of a very demanding sport.
Referencing a video Rooskrantz shared of her epic moments and hard falls to a voice-over from ‘Stick It’, the world’s most renowned sporting event gave Rooskrantz a big kudos for her authenticity as well as her Olympic-level skill.
Humour, passion and talent? Of course, it’s a South African!
In a world where everyone is bent on showing their best moments and perfect scores over the fails, we couldn’t agree more that sharing those ‘coming back down to earth’ moments matters more so than ever. Especially a sport like gymnastics, which is known for not being called ‘gym-nice-stics’ to quote the wise ‘Stick It’ film.
Still, there are times for the highs and the African Artistic Gymnastics Championships happening in Pretoria is a big one.
Taking place until 27 May, Africa’s top artistic gymnasts are going toe-to-toe and bar-to-bar. One winning team from the men’s and women’s divisions will automatically qualify for the World Champs, a step closer to the 2024 Paris Olympics!
Caitlin Rooskrantz and Naveen Daries remain the talk of the gymnasium, with Rooskrantz holding the fort as the defending African champion with numerous gold achievements.