Caitlin breaking new ground

Gymnastics has done well to raise its status in the South African sporting landscape in recent years, and though she hasn't done it alone, one individual has emerged as the face of the sport.

- Wesley Botton

And if you hadn't heard her name before this week, you might well know it by now, after Caitlin Rooskrantz was announced as one of the nation's two flag bearers (along with sprinter Akani Simbine) for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris later this month.

Rooskrantz, 22, has broken new ground over the last few years, playing a key role in elevating the profile of local gymnastics.

Coached by Ilse Roets-Pelser at the Johannesburg Gymnastics Centre, Rooskrantz made her Olympic debut in Tokyo three years ago (at the age of 19) where she and Naveen Daries became the first women of colour to represent SA in gymnastics at the quadrennial Games.

While she didn't make a final in any discipline at the Games, she has since emerged as a world-class artistic gymnast by climbing the global rankings.