Artistic gymnastics at the Commonwealth Games took a sickening turn when an English gymnast suffered a horror fall – leading to 11 minutes of treatment as the event was suspended
Artistic gymnastics at the Commonwealth Games took a sickening turn when an English gymnast suffered a horror fall.
Gabriel Langton, who had replaced Max Whitlock in Glasgow, had been competing on the high bar when the 19-year-old fell head and neck first on to the mat during the final rotation of the team final. The competition was quickly halted as medics rushed to his side.
Langton had been initially motionless, but soon responded to staff by moving his legs and later his hands. Medics worked to get him on a stretcher – and after around 11 minutes he was taken out of the arena.
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Luke Whitehouse, who followed Langton on the bars, said: “When something like that happens, you’ve just got to forget about it and reset. I just had to focus on my routine one skill at a time.
“Gymnastics is such a dangerous sport and things like this remind us of that. It’s one of those things you have to put out of your mind. From what we’ve heard [Langton] is doing OK.”
Then, in the evening, a Team England spokesperson said: “Team England’s Gabriel Langton had a fall at tonight’s artistic gymnastics men’s individual qualification and team final competition.
“We are grateful to the medical teams who responded immediately to provide assistance. He has been taken to hospital and we will share more information when it is available.”
England won a silver medal in the event, as Whitehouse added: “It was really tough. We just had to reset, try to put it to one side mentally and focus on the job we had to do.
“I think everyone should be proud of the way we carried on after Gabe’s fall. We all agreed we’d take another warm-up and bring our energy back into it. There was a delay after the first warm-up, but we regrouped.
“The coaches were fantastic, and the boys who had to go up on high bar were incredible. The togetherness of the team really showed, and I couldn’t be prouder of everyone.”