Ellie Black facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ellie Black
Black in 2021
Personal information
Full name	Elsabeth Ann Black
Nickname(s)	Ellie
Country represented	Canada
Born	(1995-09-08) September 8, 1995 (age 29) Halifax, Nova Scotia
Height	157 cm (5 ft 2 in)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Years on national team	2010–present
Club	Halifax Alta Gymnastics
Head coach(es)	Keiji Yamanaka, David Kikuchi
Eponymous skills	Black (G): Piked clear-hip Tkatchev with ½ turn (Uneven bars)
Medal record Women's artistic gymnastics Representing  Canada World Championships Silver 2017 Montreal All-around Silver 2022 Liverpool Balance beam Bronze 2022 Liverpool Team Commonwealth Games Gold 2014 Glasgow Balance beam Gold 2018 Gold Coast Team Gold 2018 Gold Coast All-around Silver 2014 Glasgow Vault Silver 2018 Gold Coast Vault Bronze 2014 Glasgow Floor exercise Pan American Games Gold 2015 Toronto All-around Gold 2015 Toronto Balance beam Gold 2015 Toronto Floor exercise Gold 2019 Lima All-around Gold 2019 Lima Vault Silver 2015 Toronto Team Silver 2019 Lima Team Silver 2019 Lima Balance beam Bronze 2015 Toronto Vault Bronze 2019 Lima Uneven bars Pacific Rim Championships Gold 2014 Richmond Vault Silver 2014 Richmond Team Bronze 2014 Richmond All-around Summer Universiade Gold 2017 Taipei Balance beam Silver 2013 Kazan Floor exercise Silver 2017 Taipei Team Bronze 2013 Kazan Balance beam Bronze 2017 Taipei All-around Bronze 2017 Taipei Uneven bars FIG World Cup Event 1st 2nd 3rd All-Around World Cup 0 1 3 Apparatus World Cup 1 0 0 World Challenge Cup 6 5 2

Ellie Black (born September 8, 1995) is a famous Canadian gymnast. She has competed in four Olympic Games: 2012, 2016, 2020, and 2024.

Ellie made history at the 2017 World Championships by winning a silver medal in the all-around competition. This was the first time a Canadian gymnast had won such a medal! She also helped the Canadian women's team win a bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships. This was Canada's first team medal at a World Championship.

She also won a silver medal on the balance beam at the 2022 World Championships. Ellie is a two-time champion at the Pan American Games (in 2015 and 2019). She has also won the Canadian national all-around title six times. At the 2020 Olympic Games, Ellie placed fourth in the balance beam final. This is the highest Olympic placement for a Canadian female gymnast.

Ellie started competing internationally in 2012. She helped the Canadian Olympic team reach their first Olympic team final in 2012, where they finished fifth. She is the most decorated Canadian woman in gymnastics history.

About Ellie Black

Her Early Life

Ellie Black was born on September 8, 1995, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her parents are Thomas and Katharine Black. Her older sister, Karen, was a figure skater. Her younger brother, William, also did gymnastics. Ellie started competitive gymnastics when she was nine years old. She was inspired after watching the 2004 Summer Olympics. At first, she trained in both gymnastics and figure skating.

Junior Gymnastics Career

In December 2008, Ellie competed at Elite Canada as a junior. She placed sixteenth in the all-around and won a bronze medal on vault. In 2009, she placed tenth all-around and third on vault at Elite Canada. At the 2010 Canadian Championships, she finished fourteenth all-around. She also won a bronze on vault and a gold medal on the balance beam. In December 2010, she won a silver medal on vault at Elite Canada.

Ellie's Senior Career

Starting as a Senior (2011-2012)

Ellie was old enough to compete as a senior in 2011. However, she missed the whole season due to injuries. She had surgery for a dislocated and broken toe. Then, she dislocated her elbow.

In February 2012, Ellie made her senior debut at Elite Canada. She placed ninth all-around. She won gold on vault and bronze on balance beam. In March, she competed internationally for the first time at the International Gymnix. She finished second all-around. She also won gold on vault and silver on balance beam.

Ellie then won her first FIG World Cup medals at the Osijek World Challenge Cup. She won gold on both vault and floor exercise. These results made her a strong candidate for the 2012 Olympic team. At the Canadian Championships in May, she placed seventh all-around. She won gold on vault and bronze on floor.

In June 2012, Ellie was chosen for the five-member Olympic team. She was the first female gymnast from east of Montreal to make the Canadian Olympic team. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, she helped Canada reach the team finals for the first time since 1984. The team finished fifth, which was Canada's best-ever result. Ellie also qualified for the vault final. During the vault final, she injured her left ankle and could not finish. She did not compete for the rest of the year.

Major Achievements (2013-2016)

In 2013, Ellie won a bronze medal at the Tokyo FIG World Cup. She won three gold medals at the Ljubljana World Challenge Cup. In May, she won her first national all-around title at the Canadian Championships. She also won gold on balance beam, silver on floor, and bronze on vault. At the Summer Universiade, she won a bronze medal on beam and a silver on floor. This was the first time a Canadian gymnast won a medal at the Universiade since 1983. She competed at her first World Championships, finishing thirteenth all-around.

In 2014, Ellie won gold in the all-around and floor exercise at the International Gymnix. She also won team silver and all-around bronze at the Pacific Rim Championships. She defended her Canadian all-around title and won gold on uneven bars. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, she won gold on balance beam, silver on vault, and bronze on floor exercise. At the World Championships, she placed ninth all-around, which was the highest placement for a Canadian at that time.

Black (left) and the Canadian team at the 2015 Pan American Games

In 2015, Ellie won her third straight Canadian all-around title. She competed at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto. The Canadian team won a silver medal. Ellie won gold in the all-around, becoming the first non-American woman to win the Pan American all-around title since 1983. She also won gold on balance beam and floor exercise, and bronze on vault. She was the most decorated Canadian athlete at the Games. At the World Championships, the Canadian team finished sixth, their best-ever team finish. Ellie placed seventh in the all-around final.

In 2016, Ellie won bronze at Elite Canada and the American Cup. She won silver at the Canadian Championships. She represented Canada at her second Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The team finished ninth. Ellie placed fifth in the all-around final, which was the highest finish for a Canadian gymnast in the Olympic all-around.

Continued Success (2017-2019)

In 2017, Ellie won silver medals on uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise at the Koper World Challenge Cup. She won her fourth national all-around title. At the Summer Universiade, she led Canada to a team silver medal. She also won all-around bronze, beam gold, and bars bronze. At the World Championships in Montreal, Ellie won the silver medal in the all-around. This made her the first Canadian to win an all-around medal at the World Championships.

In 2018, Ellie competed at her second Commonwealth Games. She helped Canada win team gold for the first time since 1990. She also won gold in the all-around and silver on vault. She won her fifth national all-around title. At the Paris World Challenge Cup, she won medals on all four events: silver on vault, bronze on bars, gold on beam, and silver on floor. At the World Championships, Canada placed fourth in the team final, their highest-ever finish. Ellie placed twelfth all-around.

In 2019, Ellie won silver all-around at Elite Canada. She won bronze at the American Cup and silver at the Tokyo World Cup. She claimed her sixth national all-around title at the Canadian Championships. She won gold on floor, silver on bars, and bronze on beam. At the Pan American Games, the Canadian team won silver. Ellie defended her all-around title, becoming the first gymnast to do so. She won gold on vault, bronze on bars, and silver on beam. With nine Pan American Games medals, she became the most decorated Canadian gymnast in Pan American Games history. She was Canada's flag-bearer for the closing ceremony.

At the World Championships, the team placed fifth, qualifying Canada for the 2020 Olympic Games. Ellie finished fourth in the all-around final. She injured her ankle during the all-around final and had to withdraw from the balance beam final.

Recent Years (2020-2024)

In 2020, Ellie won gold on uneven bars at Elite Canada. She placed fifth all-around at the American Cup.

In 2021, Ellie won the all-around title at the virtual Elite Canada competition. She won her seventh national all-around title at the Canadian Championships. She was named to Canada's 2020 Olympic team. The Canadian team finished tenth in qualifications. Ellie qualified for the all-around and balance beam finals. She injured her left ankle before the all-around final and withdrew. Despite the injury, she competed in the balance beam final and finished fourth.

In 2022, Ellie won the all-around title at Elite Canada. She helped Canada finish third at the City of Jesolo Trophy. She won bronze on balance beam at the Paris World Challenge Cup. She also performed a new skill on the uneven bars, a piked clear-hip Tkatchev with ½ turn, which was named after her in the Code of Points. At the World Championships in Liverpool, Ellie helped Canada win the bronze medal in the team final. This was Canada's first team medal at the World Championships and earned Canada a spot at the 2024 Olympic Games. She finished fifth in the all-around final, fourth on vault, and won a silver medal on balance beam.

In June 2024, Ellie was named to the team for the 2024 Olympic Games. At the Olympics, she helped Canada finish fifth in the team final. Individually, she placed sixth in both the all-around and vault finals.

Awards and Recognition

In 2018, the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame named Ellie Black one of the 15 greatest athletes in Nova Scotian history. She was also awarded the Order of Nova Scotia for her contributions to gymnastics and her province. She was only the second person under 25 to receive this honor.

After the 2024 Summer Olympics, Ellie received the Paris 2024 Fair Play Award. This award recognized her great sportsmanship and respect for others.

Sponsors and Endorsements

Ellie Black has worked with several sponsors. In 2019, she became sponsored by Toyota Canada. She also has a collection of gymnastics equipment with Spieth America. She is sponsored by the Royal Bank of Canada. In 2020, she supported a fund to help small businesses. In 2021, she started working with the sports nutrition brand MuscleTech.

Personal Life

Ellie Black has taken kinesiology courses at Dalhousie University. She enjoys cooking and has shared her recipes online.

Eponymous Skill

At the 2022 Paris World Challenge Cup, Ellie Black successfully performed a new skill on the uneven bars. It is called a piked clear-hip Tkatchev with ½ turn. Because she was the first gymnast to do this skill, it is now named "Black" in the Code of Points.

Competitive History

Here is a summary of Ellie Black's gymnastics results.

Competitive history of Ellie Black at the junior level

Year	Event	Team	AA	VT	UB	BB	FX
2008	Elite Canada		16
2009	Elite Canada		10
2010	Canadian Championships		14
	Elite Canada		14			4	8

Competitive history of Ellie Black at the senior level

Year	Event	Team	AA	VT	UB	BB	FX
2012	Elite Canada		9				7
	International Gymnix						4
	2nd AG Meeting
	Osijek World Challenge Cup
	Canadian Championships		7			7
	Final Olympic Selection		6
	Olympic Games	5		8
2013	Elite Canada
	Tokyo World Cup
	Ljubljana World Challenge Cup				5
	Canadian Championships
	Universiade		4	4
	World Championships		13				8
2014	Elite Canada
	International Gymnix
	Pacific Rim Championships				5	6	4
	Canadian Championships
	Commonwealth Games	4	4		4
	World Championships	12	9			7
	Stuttgart World Cup		7
	Glasgow World Cup
2015	Elite Canada
	American Cup		5
	City of Jesolo Trophy		12			7	4
	Canadian Championships
	Pan American Games
	World Championships	6	7			7
2016	Elite Canada				4
	American Cup
	Canadian Championships				11
	Canadian Olympic Trials
	Olympic Games	9	5
2017	Koper World Challenge Cup			4
	Canadian Championships				6
	Summer Universiade			4			4
	World Championships			4		8	7
	Toyota International					5
2018	Elite Canada				7
	Commonwealth Games					6	4
	Canadian Championships
	Paris World Challenge Cup
	World Championships	4	12	7		5
2019	Elite Canada
	American Cup
	Tokyo World Cup
	Canadian Championships
	Pan American Games						4
	World Championships	7	4			WD
2020	Elite Canada					4
	American Cup		5
2021	Elite Canada
	Canadian Championships
	Olympic Games	R2	WD	R3		4
2022	Elite Canada
	City of Jesolo Trophy		15			6
	Paris World Challenge Cup				4
	World Championships		5	4
2023
	World Championships	12	16	5	8
2024	International Gymnix
	City of Jesolo Trophy	4			8	7	8
	Canadian Championships
	Olympic Games	5	6	6			R3
2025	Cairo World Cup				7

See also

In Spanish: Elsabeth Black para niños

• List of Olympic female artistic gymnasts for Canada
• List of female artistic gymnasts with the most appearances at Olympic Games