Commonwealth Games at forefront of Caitlin Rooskrantz 2026 goals

Rooskrantz recently returned from the African Artistic Championships in Cameroon, where she set a new personal best and claimed a silver medal behind Olympic champion Kaylia Nemour of Algeria.  

Speaking exclusively to SABC Sport, Rooskrantz says her goal since returning from the Paris Olympics has been to better her results at this year's Commonwealth Games and then to finish within the top eight at the World Champs. 

"Coming into this year, after I came back from Paris, the main reason I came back was that I actually wanted to go for Commonwealth again, to try and see if I could better my result," said Rooskrantz.

"And that has been at the forefront of my goals since I've come come, and that was the biggest goal for this year – I've now made the Commonwealth team and everything is directed at that.

"And World Championships is after, so that's another nice addition that I can go to another World Champs, and it's going to be in Rotterdam so my first time in the Netherlands, so that's quite exciting as well.

"But ja, if anything, I'm quite excited to go into the World Champs with everything that we've managed to do in the last year, year-and-a-half, and all the progress that I've personally managed to make, especially on the bar.

"So I'm hoping to see I can edge closer and closer to that top eight in the world on the bar."

READ: Fleisher: SASCOC to take squad of 109 athletes to Comm Games

Rooskrantz, who became South Africa’s first ever gymnast to medal on the uneven bar at the Commonwealth Games, insists she has improved since the 2022 event in Birmingham and now has her eyes set on either silver or gold at this year's edition. 

"My big goal is to try and better my medal placing at the Commonwealth Games, I was the first [SA] gymnast at the last Comm Games to ever medal on bar, and it definitely came pretty unexpected," she added.

"It was a goal at the time, but it was one of those goals where I was like, 'I don't know if it's really possible but we'll try.' And I obviously managed to walk away with a bronze.

"And I think looking back now at how much I've improved since then, it gives me a lot of hope, also watching the competition very closely, and I think trying to put in the work each day as much as I can to reach where I want to be at this year's Comm Games."