England gymnast, Gabriel Langton, was taken to hospital after suffering a heavy fall during the men’s team gymnastics final at the Commonwealth Games on Friday.
The 19-year-old landed headfirst after losing his grip on the horizontal bar during the final rotation of the competition, forcing officials to halt the event as medical personnel rushed onto the floor.
Langton received medical attention on the competition floor for several minutes before being placed on a stretcher with head and neck support and transported to hospital for further evaluation.
Team England later confirmed that the teenager was conscious, able to move and speaking with doctors after arriving at the hospital.
“We are grateful to the medical teams who responded immediately to provide assistance,” Team England said in a statement.
“He has been taken to hospital and we will share more information when it is available.”
The incident overshadowed the remainder of the competition, which resumed after the delay. England went on to claim the silver medal behind champions Canada, while Australia secured bronze to win their first men’s team gymnastics medal since capturing gold at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
Langton, who had been called into the team as a replacement for injured six-time Olympic medallist Max Whitlock, was unable to join his teammates in celebrating their podium finish.
“From what we’ve heard, he’s doing OK,” said Langton’s teammate, Luke Whitehouse.
“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.”
