The siblings make up half of Namibia’s Women's Artistic Gymnastics team - which is coached by their mother, Petra - along with Maria Tyesha Vicente Humphries and Sureshni Andrew.

Anne-Leen, at 20 the elder of the pair (pictured above right), competed for the African nation at last year’s world championships in Indonesia.

She was thrilled when 17-year-old Jonie (above left) was selected to join her in the team for Glasgow 2026.

“To be able to share this big stage with Jonie was really incredible,” Anne-Leen said.

“It's just so amazing because we're best friends, so we do everything together. And of course she's my roommate too, so it can get irritating at times, I can't lie. But she's cool.

“Our personalities are quite different, so we also handle stress quite differently.

“When our nerves get high, because we are so close to each other, it's easiest to lean on each other, but it's also easy to get frustrated with each other when we're on the edge of our seats and we're so nervous. 

“Sometimes our personalities do clash in moments of pressure, so that's been tricky. But otherwise we've been good.”

Jonie said: "We can support each other in a way no one else can support us, so it's just a really nice experience to do it together.”

Elite-level sport can be a high-pressure environment but as well as working to improve as gymnasts, Anne-Leen and Jonie have to work on separating training and family life with Petra.

“Sometimes it does get difficult," Jonie said. "But the way she knows how to coach us and support us from a coach's perspective as well as a mum is just incredible. 

“Learning the difference between her as our coach and our mum is something we had to teach ourselves. But to have that support in the competition as both is just incredible. The way she separates it is also just amazing."

Ups and downs

Namibian Artistic Gymnastics sisters Anne-Leen (left) and Jonie (right) Thorburn at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games

Photography Glasgow 2026

Anne-Leen said: “She's been my coach since I was young, but our personalities are quite different, so that does sometimes make it difficult in training.

“But I'm so blessed to have her by my side. No matter the ups and downs we go through, we always sort it out, and she's always right there by me.

“Having her on this stage with me was really just an honour. She's really great.”

The Thorburns were joined in the Artistic Gymnastics by three other sets of sisters: Singapore's Amanda and Emma Yap, South Africa's Zelme and Naveen Daries and twins Abigail and Emily Roper, of Wales.

Anne-Leen and Jonie competed on all four pieces of apparatus in Saturday’s Team final and Individual qualification.

Although they failed to advance, they have relished every minute of the trip to Scotland and the big-stage experience it gave them.

“It’s been my dream to come to Glasgow, especially for the Commonwealth Games,” Jonie said.

Anne-Leen said: “It's such an experience, and I feel like Glasgow is so much different to what we're used to.

“The buildings and everything are just so much bigger than Windhoek, the town I live in, so it's really beautiful.”

For full schedule and results for Artistic Gymnastics, presented by Longines, click here.