In the lead-up to the Commonwealth Games, Jordan Carroll pretended his rehearsal gym was the competition stage. He would raise his arms and go through his routine, just as if there were judges on the sidelines about to hand out a score.
It all paid off this week, when the 20-year-old gymnast from Saskatoon took home the gold in pommel horse, a sport where athletes twist and turn on two handles attached to a beam.
Jordan received a score of 15.000 for his routine, narrowly beating the 14.966 score by Scotland’s Reuben Ward.
It was Jordan’s first major international competition.
The win was “so special,” he told Saskatoon Morning host Candice Lipski. And the moment was made even better because his father, Steve Carroll, was cheering with pride in the stands in Scotland.
“I felt so proud to be a part of Canada, part of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon,” Jordan said. “I remember looking up at my dad. I knew he was proud of me. Everything was amazing.”
Jordan Carroll wins the pommel horse final to claim his 2nd gold medal at Glasgow 2026
Watching his son perform and win was a “bucket-list moment,” Steve said.
The stadium started buzzing quietly during the performance, he said, with a few spectators calling out Jordan’s name. Then, as the routine progressed, cheers from the fans started to build.
“They were cheering for Jordan like he was a home favourite,” Steve said.
When Jordan landed at the end of his routine and held his hands in a heart, Steve said he was caught between trying to show his emotion as a father and keep his cool.
He said he teared up listening to commentators praise his son for a stellar performance as a relative rookie.
“Usually you start at the bottom and he seems to be starting at the top,” Steve said. “It’s a bit of a shock to … see all that happen. So it’s pretty overwhelming.”
The win was Jordan’s second gold of the Games, after he helped Canada’s men’s gymnastics team take the top step of the podium in the team competition.
Men’s artistic gymnasts earn Canada’s first Commonwealth Games gold medal in Scotland
Jordan’s sports journey didn’t begin with the pommel horse. It started in the pool, where his parents coached swimming and diving.
But as Jordan got into gymnastics, he eventually discovered pommel horse as his true passion. He started training at it exclusively a few years ago, he said.
Being supported by his parents — who are both accomplished athletes — is a source of motivation, Jordan said.
Though his mother Mary Carroll wasn’t present in Scotland, Jordan said, she was “so happy” to find out he had won gold — just as she once did at the Commonwealth Games, as a diver.
And Steve said his “pride never changes” for his son.
Jordan said he hopes the momentum from his win will be a boost as he focuses on the upcoming world championships, which determine if athletes qualify for the next Summer Olympics.
“Obviously, it’s been my dream since I was a kid to go to the Olympics,” he said. “Every competition I go to, it seems more and more doable, seems less and less like a dream.”
