Ellie Black's powerful style stands out in women's gymnastics
Ellie Black was made for this era of women's gymnastics.
The sport rewards power, strength and audacity more now than it did a decade and a half ago, when judges scored with an eye more toward balletic grace than degree of difficulty.
Similar to American gymnastics star Simone Biles, Black's muscular routines are in vogue.
"It's aggressive. It's athletic," former Canadian gymnast Kyle Shewfelt said. "When she's on the beam, Ellie isn't the type of athlete who is trying to be light on the beam. She's trying to break the beam.
"Her style is so aggressive and it's so strong. That's the best way I can put it. She's a strong woman and that comes across in her gymnastics. She's going after it. She attacks."
The man who broke Canada's artistic gymnastics barrier at the Olympics Games with a floor routine gold in 2004 is bullish on Black's podium potential in Tokyo.
Shewfelt believes the 25-year-old Black from Halifax has the goods to be the first Canadian woman to win an artistic gymnastics medal in her third Olympic Games.
"Every conversation that's had in the gymnastics community, who is going to challenge for the podium? Ellie's in that conversation," Shewfelt said.
Black placed fifth in 2016 for the best Olympic all-around result by a Canadian. She was the country's first all-around world championship medallist a year later when she took silver in Montreal.
The women's all-around tests a gymnast's proficiency across all four apparatus: vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor.
"You have to hit four routines on four different events cleanly, consistently, and mostly hit the best routines you've ever done, to be able to end up on that podium that day," Black explained.
She fell just short of the all-around podium at the 2019 world championship in Stuttgart, Germany, in fourth.
After helping Canada qualify a women's team for Tokyo, Black tore ligaments in her ankle landing a vault -- her last event of the all-around -- and subsequently needed surgery.
If the Tokyo Olympics, postponed to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, had gone ahead in 2020, Black would have been able to compete, albeit on an accelerated rehabilitation schedule.
She placed fifth in her first post-injury competition, the American Cup in Milwaukee in March 2020, just as the coronavirus began shutting down sport globally.
Not only Black's ankle, but her body got a breather from the constant pounding of her sport when the pandemic put competition and training on hiatus.
"I think we're learning as athletes it's OK to have a bit of time off here and there to let your body recover and let your brain recover," Black said.
She was isolated, however. Black trained mostly by herself at Halifax Alta Gymnastics Club when she could get into the building as Nova Scotia moved in and out of lockdowns.
"There was a lot of training alone for her, almost alone, which was different for her," her coach David Kikuchi said.
International and domestic competition disappeared, as did travelling to training camps to join her Canadian teammates.
"I haven't spent that amount of time in Halifax since I was very little," Black said. "I'm usually away very, very often. I was home for about a year, which is pretty crazy, and a different thing to adapt to."
A 13-year-old Black watched Kikuchi compete in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and thought "I want to do that."
"He trained at my club and was representing Canada," Black said. "That kind of sparked that Olympic dream that four years later I could reach the 2012 Olympics."
Black also idolized Crystal Gilmore, an Olympic gymnast in 2000 who eventually married Kikuchi.
"She was strong, powerful, with unique skills, funky," Black said. "Not always completely polished in a sense and I could relate to a lot of that.
"I was very strong and powerful and still am, but when I was younger, I was definitely less polished. The artistry side was a little more difficult for me."
Shewfelt describes Black as a gymnast in command of her career.
"She has longevity in the sport," he said. "I think that's because she's in a very positive environment and she's in charge.
"Ellie Black, she's showing up and she's driving the bus. She's got her hands firmly on that steering wheel."
Women's gymnastics kicks off with Sunday's qualification followed by Tuesday's team final.
Shallon Olsen of North Vancouver, B.C., Brooklyn Moors of Cambridge, Ont., Ava Stewart of Bowmanville, Ont., and alternate Rose Woo of Montreal round out the Canadian team.
"It's a strong team that we have," said Kikuchi, who is also the women's team coach in Tokyo. "Ellie, Brooklyn and Shallon are all very veteran members and have been to at least three world championships. Ellie and Shallon have been to the Olympics before.
"They're all very experienced, are great athletes and have been in world championship and Olympic finals in their careers. There's not many Canadians who have done that in their history."
Rene Cournoyer of Repentigny, Que., is Canada's lone athlete in men's gymnastics, which gets underway Saturday.
The women's all-around competition is July 29, followed by apparatus finals. Black used the extra training time the pandemic produced to beef up her beam routine.
"We really made a different choice around her beam routine and are going for something way more difficult than it would have been," Kikuchi said.
Bolstered by her experience, training and healthy body, Black feels ready to perform in Tokyo.
"I'm feeling confident in the sense of I've made the best of the situation we have," she said.
"I'm also confident in the fact that our team is looking really good and we're really excited to go to Tokyo and show what we can do, even though our preparation has looked different."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 14, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Israel attacks Iran, Reuters sources say; drones reported over Isfahan
Israel has attacked Iran, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters, as Iranian state media reported early on Friday that its forces had destroyed drones, days after Iran launched a retaliatory drone strike on Israel.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Nearly half of China's major cities are sinking, researchers say
Nearly half of China's major cities are suffering 'moderate to severe' levels of subsidence, putting millions at risk of flooding especially as sea levels rise.
Prince Harry formally confirms he is now a U.S. resident
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
Judge says 'no evidence fully supports' murder case against Umar Zameer as jury starts deliberations
The judge presiding over the trial of a man accused of fatally running over a Toronto police officer is telling jurors the possible verdicts they may reach based on the evidence in the case.
Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
Colin Jost names one celebrity who is great at hosting 'Saturday Night Live'
Colin Jost, who co-anchors Saturday Night Live's 'Weekend Update,' revealed who he thinks is one of the best hosts on the show.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn't over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball's highest scorer Caitlin Clark's first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
'Shopaholic' author Sophie Kinsella reveals brain cancer diagnosis
Sophie Kinsella, the best-selling author behind the 'Shopaholic' book series, has revealed that she is receiving treatment for brain cancer.