By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Gymnastics South Africa and Team SA have confirmed that SA gymnast Caitlin Rooskrantz is out of the 2024 Paris Olympics after the MRI scan confirmed a ligament injury in her midfoot.
Rooskrantz was one of the flagbearers at the opening ceremony, injured her foot during the floor exercise competition on Sunday.
A team of specialists confirmed no surgery will be required and they are confident of full recovery after appropriate rehabilitation.
The two-time uneven bars gold medallist in the FIG World Cup series was to compete in the all-round, Balance Beam, Floor Exercise, Uneven Bars and Vault.
However, she could not finish the qualifying round and has been left in a blur situation after she injured her right foot during her floor routine.
In the Uneven Bars, she earned a 13.733 score, soaring past Ukraine’s Anna Lashchevska’s 13.033 and Switzerland’s Lena Bickel, who earned 12.266.
In the Beam Balance, the 2022 African all-round champion scored 11.333, and in the Floor Exercise, she came out with 10.866. The injury sidelined her from taking part in the Vault.
Rooskrantz has represented South Africa at the 2020 Summer Olympics, becoming the first South African gymnast to qualify for the Olympics without a continental quota.
The 22-year-old talented South African gymnast is also the 2022 Commonwealth Games Uneven Bars bronze medallist, securing South Africa’s first gymnastics medal at the Commonwealth Games since 2010.