Ellie Black headlines Canada team for the World Championships
Plus, Elisabeth Seitz tears her Achilles and a look back at the 1996 Olympic horizontal bar final.
Artistic Gymnastics
Three-time Olympian Ellie Black will lead Team Canada at the upcoming World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium.
The 27-year-old will be competing in her eighth global event, having made her debut at the 2013 edition also held in Antwerp. She has competed for Canada at London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
Black’s world championships career has seen her claim three medals, including balance beam silver and team bronze a year ago.
She’ll be joined by Aurelie Tran, Ava Stewart, Cassie Lee and Rose Woo on the team. Frederique Sgarbossa is the squad’s alternate.
The men’s team is Zachary Clay, Rene Cournoyer, Felix Dolci, William Emard and Jayson Rampersad with Yanni Chronopoulos as the alternate.
Three-time Olympian Elisabeth Seitz out of Worlds with torn Achilles
Germany’s Elisabeth Seitz will be missing the upcoming World Championships after tearing her Achilles tendon this week during training.
“Sometimes life throws unexpected obstacles in our path. Unfortunately, I have to inform you that this year's World Championships in Antwerp will have to proceed without me,” she wrote in a post on Instagram. “During yesterday's training on floor, I ruptured the Achilles tendon in my right foot.”
The 29-year-old has been a steady presence on the German team since her senior debut in 2010 and won a bronze medal on the uneven bars at the global event in 2018.
Her absence will come as a big blow to the squad.
At last year’s world championships in Liverpool, where Germany finished 12th (likely the lowest they can finish this year to obtain a team quota spot for Paris 2024), Seitz contributed the team's two highest scores: a 14.400 on the bars and a 13.466 on vault.
Despite the setback, Seitz says she is still targeting a fourth Olympic appearance in 2024.
“I won't give up. This injury won't deter me from continuing to pursue my dream of the 2024 Olympics and coming back stronger,” she wrote. “It may be a setback, but I will work harder to recover and return to the mat.”
From the vault…
This week, we take a look back at the men’s horizontal bar final from the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta that saw Germany’s Andreas Wecker claim gold with his high-flying routine. His 9.850 held off Krasimir Dunev’s 9.825.
There was a three-way tie for bronze between Vitaly Schero, Fan Bin and Alexei Nemov.