Caitlin Rooskrantz
Full nameCaitlin Aileen Rooskrantz
Nickname(s)Caits
Country represented South Africa
Born (2001-11-05) 5 November 2001
Johannesburg, South Africa
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior International Elite
Years on national team2015 - present
ClubJohannesburg Gymnastics Centre
Head coach(es)Ilse Roets-Pelser
Medal record
Representing  South Africa
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place2022 BirminghamUneven bars
African Championships
Gold medal – first place2018 SwakopmundUneven bars
Gold medal – first place2022 CairoAll-around
Gold medal – first place2022 CairoUneven bars
Gold medal – first place2023 PretoriaTeam
Silver medal – second place2018 SwakopmundTeam
Silver medal – second place2022 CairoTeam
Silver medal – second place2023 PretoriaAll-around
Bronze medal – third place2022 CairoBalance beam
FIG World Cup
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Apparatus World Cup 1 0 0
World Challenge Cup 1 0 0
Total 2 0 0

Caitlin Aileen Rooskrantz (born 5 November 2001)[1] is a South African artistic gymnast. She represented South Africa at the 2020 Summer Olympics and was the first South African gymnast to qualify for the Olympics without a continental quota. Rooskrantz and teammate Naveen Daries became the first female gymnasts of color to represent South Africa and the Olympics. She is the 2022 Commonwealth Games uneven bars bronze medalist, South Africa's first gymnastics medal at the Commonwealth Games since 2010. She is the 2022 African all-around champion and a two-time African uneven bars champion (2018, 2022). She is a two-time uneven bars gold medalist on the FIG World Cup series.

Career

Rooskrantz is a member of Johannesburg Gymnastics Centre, and started gymnastics at the age of eight.[2][3]

Junior

Between 2015 and 2017, Rooskrantz dislocated her fingers on five separate occasions.[2] In 2016, she came second in the junior all-around event at the African Artistic Gymnastics Championships.[4] At the 2016 Junior Commonwealth Games in Namibia, Rooskrantz came second in the vault event, third in the bars event, and second in the all-around event.[5]

Senior

Rooskrantz made her senior debut at the 2017 Koper Challenge Cup, finishing fifth in the uneven bars event.[6] She was not selected for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, due to fitness concerns.[2] In 2018, she won the uneven bars event at the African Artistic Gymnastics Championships, and the all-around event at that year's South African National Championships.[6][7] As a result of her national championship win, Rooskrantz qualified for the 2018 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Doha, Qatar.[7] That year, she also participated in a training camp in Frankfurt, Germany.[8]

In 2019, she won the uneven bars[9] Artistic Gymnastics World Cup Challenge event in Szombathely, Hungary.[2][3] She was the first South African to win a medal at an international gymnastics competition.[3][10] At the 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, Rooskrantz qualified for the all-around event at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[11] She was the fourth South African artistic gymnast to qualify for the Olympics since South African re-introduction in 1992,[11] and was the first South African artistic gymnast to qualify for the Olympics since Zandre Labuschagne in 2004.[2] Rooskrantz was one of the first person of colour artistic gymnasts to represent South Africa,[2] along with Naveen Daries, who also competed at the Games.[12] As the 2020 Summer Olympics were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Rooskrantz livestreamed the routine that she would have performed at the Games in August 2020.[13] She finished 61st in the qualifying stage of the event, and did not qualify for any apparatus final;[14] her score at the Games was a personal best.[12]

Rooskrantz won a gold medal on the uneven bars at the 2022 World Cup event in Cairo, Egypt.[15] She also won the uneven bars event at the 2022 African Artistic Gymnastics Championships.[16] She came third in the uneven bars event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.[17] She also finished 9th in the final of the individual all-around event,[18] and 12th in qualification for the women's floor event, and did not qualify for the final.[19] She was also part of the South African team that finished fourth in the artistic team all-around event.[20]

Personal life

Rooskrantz attended Parktown High School for Girls.[21] She had planned to have a gap year to focus on competing at the Olympics, though those plans were changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[22] In 2022, she enrolled in the University of Johannesburg and began studying marketing management.[23] She comes from an athletic family: her father played football and her older brother was involved in field hockey and cricket.[2] Her father died when she was eight.[2] Her mother gave up working full-time as a nurse to support Rooskrantz's gymnastics career.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Crumlish, John (2 September 2022). "South Africa's Caitlin Rooskrantz: 'I am recharged and ready to give it my all'". International Gymnast Magazine. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Caitlin Rooskrantz: I have broken the Olympic barrier for South African gymnastics". Olympic Channel. 13 September 2020. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "Caitlin Rooskrantz inspires a generation of gymnasts". New Frame. 29 November 2019. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  4. ↑ "13ÈME CHAMPIONNAT D'AFRIQUE DES NATIONS: RESULTS, WAG JUNIORS C-II" (PDF) (in French). GymnasticsResults.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  5. ↑ "Medals and memories for young gymnasts". Northcliff Melville Times. 9 November 2016. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 "The 2021 Olympians: Caitlin Rooskrantz". The Gymnternet. 2 February 2021. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  7. 1 2 "JGC gymnasts shine at national championships". South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee. 11 October 2018. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  8. ↑ "Newlands gymnasts represent SA against Bangladesh, Wales, and Japan". Northcliff Melville Times. 15 August 2018. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  9. ↑ "SA Olympic hopeful Caitlin Rooskrantz wins gold in Hungary". Sunday Times. 12 September 2019. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  10. ↑ "WATCH: How 18-year-old Caitlin Rooskrantz inspired the nation with historic performance". Jacaranda FM. 3 August 2020. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  11. 1 2 "SA gymnast Caitlin Rooskrantz on breaking barriers, aims for 'no major faults' in Tokyo". News24. 3 April 2021. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  12. 1 2 "South Africa's Caitlin Rooskrantz elated with personal best score at Olympics". Daily Maverick. 25 July 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  13. ↑ "A clean routine for Caitlin Rooskrantz". Northcliff Melville Times. 13 August 2020. Archived from the original on 14 February 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  14. ↑ "Women's Qualification | All-around individual". Eurosport. 25 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  15. ↑ "South African gymnast sensation Caitlin Rooskrantz wins gold at the World Cup in Cairo". News24. 24 March 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  16. ↑ "Caitlin Rooskrantz Crowned 2022 African Artistic Champion". G Sport for Girls. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  17. ↑ "Rooskrantz had no doubts she would medal at Commonwealth Games: 'It's a dream come true'". News24. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  18. ↑ Women's artistic individual all around–Final
  19. ↑ Women's Floor Exercise - Qualification
  20. ↑ "Women - Subdivision 4". 2022 Commonwealth Games. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  21. ↑ "Parktown gymnast Caitlin Rooskrantz has now set her sights on qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Games". My Com Link. 1 October 2019. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  22. ↑ "#EXTRATIME WITH TOP SA GYMNAST CAITLIN ROOSKRANTZ". Eyewitness News. May 2020. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  23. ↑ "Rooskrantz Caitlin". International Gymnastics Federation. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
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