Gabriel Langton has admitted he feared for his gymnastics future after his horrific fall at the Commonwealth Games.
The 19-year-old fell headfirst from three metres to the floor after missing his catch on the horizontal bar during the men’s team event, spending the night in hospital.
He confirmed he had not suffered a concussion as he returned to the Team England base wearing the silver medal he had still helped win.
“I knew that I could still talk, I could move a lot of things. I was just hoping I could do gym again,” he said.
”Neck injuries are there to be taken seriously. I was just hoping that it wasn’t anything too bad. When I got the scans back, it was a big relief. My thought process switched quite quickly to being, ‘I should be back in the gym quite soon.’
”I’ve spoken to Team England doctors and physios, and hopefully it won’t be too long. It’ll be a gentle reintroduction, but hopefully not too long.
”I’m doing a lot better now. Slightly sore, but a lot better than I was a couple of days ago, knowing that it’s nothing too serious.”
Langton – who found out he had won a silver medal while in the medical room at the Glasgow International Arena – claimed the fall was just a fluke and said he cannot wait to get back in the gym.
”I’ve done that skill so many times, and this has happened once,” he added.
”I have performed it safely ten thousand times. If you look at those stats, this was just kind of a freak accident. I think I’ll be pretty confident that I can just put that to the side and trust in my gymnastics again.
”If I am to be in the headlines, then I’d rather be in it for winning medals. It’s more motivation to get back in the gym. I want to get back out there and prove that I’m here to win medals.
”I can’t wait to get back on the big stage again and be talked about for different reasons.”
Langton revealed he remembers every moment of the fall, recalling how his first instinct was to climb back onto the horizontal bar and finish his routine despite landing headfirst.
”I remember pretty much all of it,” he said.
”We were slightly behind in the competition, so I was trying to go as close to perfection as I could. I really attacked that first go and, obviously, it went slightly wrong.
”I was in quite a lot of pain when I fell, but initially I thought I needed to get back on the bar and finish my routine. Then more medical staff came over, and I realised I probably wasn’t going to get back on the bar.
”I was just really frustrated that it had happened at that moment. The team were behind and I felt I could have contributed to the team score, so I was disappointed in myself. Then, when the adrenaline wore off, I started to feel the pain.”
Thanks to National Lottery players, more than £33m is raised every week for good causes. It’s because of you that sport, arts, heritage and community projects, as well as our athletes competing at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, are supported across the UK.
Sportsbeat
