Uncertainty over gymnast Caitlin Rooskrantz’s Games participation after injury

There is uncertainty about South African gymnast Caitlin Rooskrantz's participation in the Paris 2024 Olympics after she suffered an injury on Sunday.

“Rooskrantz has been forced to withdraw from the all-round competition after suffering an injury to her right foot during the floor exercise on Sunday. It is unclear whether she will play a further part in these Games,” Team South Africa said.

The 22-year-old was the first South African woman gymnast to qualify for the Games, where she earned a place at Tokyo 2020.

Should Rooskrantz have to withdraw it would be a heartbreaking moment for her. All athletes, especially gymnasts, commit to extreme work levels to compete at an Olympics.

Her gymnastic journey began at the age of six and she started competing in international events at the age of 11.

She has qualified for many world championship games and was ranked No 1 woman on the uneven bars in Cairo 2022, with a score of 12.300.

Rooskrantz won the flag-bearer award for the Olympic Games opening ceremony this year, she won the ministerial award in 2022 at the Momentum gsport Awards and was the University of Johannesburg's 2022 age group sportswoman and age group student-athlete of the year. She won a bronze medal on the uneven bars at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.

Apart from the Trojan work ethic, gymnasts are also prone to injuries. Rooskrantz dislocated her knee five times between 2015 and 2017 and also suffered a foot injury in 2019.

A day before her latest injury, Rooskrantz expressed excitement about the Paris Games.

“I'm feeling overwhelmed but super excited. This is such a special moment standing with Akani [Simbine] on this special journey. I'm excited,” she said in a video.

“Tomorrow [Sunday] is the day. Getting the opportunity to live out this dream once more is the biggest blessing. I cannot wait to absolutely leave my heart out there tomorrow. Through it all, my eyes are on you, Lord,” she said in an Instagram post.

Rooskrantz has documented her journey leading up to the Olympics on her Instagram. Her dedication and hard work were evident in her pre-competition excitement, making the injury setback more heartbreaking.

She scored 13.733 in her first run of the women's qualification — subdivision 1 — uneven bars. She scored 10.866 on her floor routine. However, she had an early fall during her beam routine but quickly recovered.

Social media has been flooded with messages of support for Rooskrantz, who expressed her gratitude..

“Hi everyone, thank you so much for all the messages of support. I've read all the messages and seen all the videos, and it's so special. I can feel the love all over the world. I'm super excited to be competing on Sunday.”

Here are some reactions from X: