With a love of the sport still burning, Ellie Black seeks new goals in artistic gymnastics

A year ago during a chaotic women’s team final at the 2022 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, a solid, consistent Team Canada emerged with a surprise bronze medal.

Team veteran Ellie Black, who has competed at the past three Olympic Games, fell to the ground as the results were confirmed overhead, a once impossible dream realized.

“I think it’s still kind of hard to really know that we did that and actually take that in,” said Black in an exclusive interview with Olympics.com ahead of the 2023 edition of the global meet in Antwerp, Belgium. “It’s been an incredible stepping stone for Canadian gymnastics for the next generations, for the younger ones,… for those girls to understand that sometimes when you don’t necessarily believe it is possible, you should believe and you should work hard and you should go into it with that mindset that it is a possibility.”

That bronze medal which meant Canada obtained a five-woman team quota spot for their National Olympic Committee opened another possibility: for Black to step back and heal an injured ankle that has dogged her since the Tokyo 2020 Games, held in 2021.

“After Worlds last year, my ankle was still giving me a bit of problems, it was giving me pain basically since the Olympics,” explained Black. “We tried some different avenues to help alleviate the pain, but it was kind of still sticking around, so we decided we would try to do a scope. I had some bone pieces in there, a lot of stuff causing some pain and irritation and inflammation that wasn’t kind of calming down.

“It’s been really helpful,” she continued,” I feel like my ankle’s felt the best that it has in the past two years on its own.”

Black hasn’t competed much this season, having only performed on the uneven bars at the Canadian nationals before winning the all-around at their World trials.

With the uncertainty of the timeline of recovery, Black says the surgery wouldn’t have been possible if Olympic qualification was on the line in Antwerp.

“If we hadn’t qualified already to the Olympics, I don’t think that scope would have been on the table for my ankle this year, just not knowing what the recovery plan was going to be like, whether I’d be back in time for Worlds this year, which would have been incredibly important,” she said. “I do think it really gave me the opportunity to kind of put my ankle health and priorities for next year, building to be stronger for next year as a top priority to me.”

“I do try and lead by example.”

At 28, Black has competed at seven World Championships in addition to the London 2012, Rio 2016, and Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Her three World Championships medals, two silver and a bronze, set her firmly among the greatest Canadian gymnasts of all time.

She was a tenth away from winning all-around gold at the 2017 World Championships where American Morgan Hurd snagged the title.

But for Black, being part of something bigger has long resonated.

“I always say the team is my favourite because we can work towards [something] together,” she said. “We’re out there competing together, supporting one another, and then, the rest will come.”

Her leadership role is not one she takes lightly.

“I do try and lead by example in certain situations, handling different situations, preparing, just trying to give – if they need it – a little pep talk or try and share my experiences with them,” says Black. “I have been competing a long time. I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs, whether it’s been injuries, mental blocks, competitions that went well or didn’t go well. Different situations, different problems, how to overcome, so just being able to give them the best opportunities so they can be successful and they can feel confident and excited to go out and compete.”

Ellie Black on longevity: “I still have goals.”

Through the ups and downs of Black’s career, she’s continued for one simple reason.

“The number one reason I do it is because I love gymnastics, which I think is a pretty good reason,” Black said. “I just have goals for myself. I’m the kind of person that I want to see what I can achieve. I want to see how far I can push myself in a safe and healthy way, but I like to learn new things. I like to try new things. I love different experiences.”

The veteran is part of a shifting dynamic in women’s gymnastics that has seen athletes continue competing longer and longer.

As she’s gained experience, Black says her approach to her gymnastics has changed. She understands herself better, where her coaches are coming from and the artistic side of the sport even more.

“I think that’s something that we want to shift in the sport because we don’t need to push the girls so young,” she says. “You don’t have to push yourself to be at your peak at 16 years old. You can peak in your 20s.

“You can do it in a very healthy and safe way,” she continued, “I think last World Championships was a really good example of that for myself, just being able to win two medals at the World Championships, at my seventh Worlds.”

So, as Black prepares for her number eight, her love of the sport – and something else keeps her coming back.

“I still have goals that I haven’t quite achieved, whether I’ll ever achieve them or not, I don’t know,” said Black. “I think those still drive me, as well.”