South African gymnast Caitlin Rooskrantz has booked her ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics, following a top performance at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium.
Taking to Instagram to celebrate her achievement on Tuesday, the 21-year-old said: “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.”
It will be a second appearance at the Olympics for Rooskrantz, yet still she revealed there were moments of doubt.
Exceeding expectations
“I always feel like these things are so far out of my league, but then I do good things. Like at the Commonwealth Games, I didn’t think I could do it but then I did get to the finals. My biggest goal is to do my personal best.”
As for representing a segment of SA society that typically does not receive the best coverage, Rooskrantz said it was especially important for her to keep breaking new barriers.
“Coming from a country like South Africa, we are obviously the rainbow nation, but for me personally, representation has been a big part of my journey.
“When we were coming up, we wanted to see people like us doing it and that was a big motivating factor for me. As I became a senior, I realised that there were a lot of young girls of colour looking up to us and being inspired. We showed them that it’s actually possible.”