Gymnast Amankwaah following in Fragapane’s footstepsImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Shantae Amankwaah is the youngest gymnast in Team England’s squadBySophie HurcomBBC Sport EnglandPublished1 hour agoIn 2014, when the Commonwealth Games were last in Glasgow, a little-known teenage gymnast, Claudia Fragapane, became one of Britain’s breakthrough stars as she won four gold medals on her debut.Twelve years on, with the competition returning to the same city, another Bristol-born teenager is hoping to one day follow in Fragapane’s footsteps when she makes her own Games bow.Shantae Amankwaah, who is part of the same Bristol Hawks gymnastics club where Fragapane began her career, stated it is “surreal” to be heading to the same competition. “I’ve always looked up to her. Even in 2014 I was only young, and I didn’t go to this gym yet, but she had so many big achievements, and when I came, she was always someone I looked up to,” Amankwaah told BBC Points West.”It’s really inspiring, especially because we’re from the same place, the same area.”At 17, Amankwaah is the youngest gymnast in Team England’s squad and she is set to compete in the uneven bars, beam and floor beginning on Friday.In 2024 she was crowned British junior all-around champion, while earlier this year she won bronze at the British Championships in the senior women’s all-around discipline. Yet the Commonwealth Games marks a major step forward in Amankwaah’s fledgling career, and, as such, the aim is simple: “Just take in the whole experience,” Amankwaah stated. “Obviously it would be nice to get a medal, but just to really enjoy it with the team and have fun, because it only comes round every four years.”Fragapane retired in 2024, and her advice to Amankwaah was of a similar message.
“It’s really difficult to just make the team, and I just wish her the best of luck,” she stated.
“She just needs to go out there and really enjoy herself and hold all the memories, because next thing she knows she could be sat here, 12 years later, thinking, ‘Wow, where has the time gone?'”
