Halifax gymnast Ellie Black withdraws from Olympic all-around final with sprained ankle
Canadian gymnast Ellie Black has withdrawn from Thursday's all-around final event at Tokyo Olympics with an ankle injury.
In an Instagram post, the Halifax resident confirmed that she sprained her ankle during a training session on Tuesday.
Black said she landed short on a beam dismount and re-injured the ankle she sprained right before coming to Tokyo.
“This is the best decision for my health and wellbeing," said Black, who was competing in her third Olympics.
On Wednesday, Black choked back tears as she expressed how frustrating it was to re-injure herself while in Tokyo.
“Hurting it here is difficult, it’s frustrating, it’s upsetting, but I’ve been through a lot of ups and down, it’s just another one of those that we have to overcome,” Black said during a virtual press conference from Tokyo. “I’m glad it wasn’t worse than it is, so that’s important, but it’s tough, it really sucks.”
Black finished the all-around competition 24th with a score of 53.699 in the all-around qualifications event.
She was sixth overall in the beam qualifying round with a score of 14.100, earning a spot in the main draw.
In a release, Canadian Olympic Committee chief sport officer Eric Myles said he hopes Black will recover in time for the balance beam final on Aug. 3.
"This has been the toughest year preparing for the Games and an especially tough last month with injuries occurring at the worst times. But I am so proud of the work I have been able to do under tough circumstances," she continued in her Instagram post.
Black's withdrawal leaves Brooklyn Moors as the only Canadian competing in the all-around final.
Black won silver in the all-around competition at the 2017 world championships in Montreal and gold in the event at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto and the 2018 Commonwealth Games on Australia's Gold Coast.
Abby Murrin has trained with Black for more than 15 years. Murrin said it's premature to count Black out for the Olympic Gymnastics Beam Final, scheduled for Aug. 3.
"I think it will take medical professionals to tell her that you cannot compete," said Murrin who coaches gymnastics at the Alta Gymnastics Club in Halifax. "Mentally, she is someone who is very driven and I know how badly she wants it."
Canadian Sport Centre Atlantic President Ken Bagnell said the injury is a major setback for both Black and Canada's hopes to win more medals in Tokyo.
"It's very tough. Ellie has been working hard for well over a decade at the highest level of gymnastics," said Bagnell. "But injuries are a part of gymnastics."
BLACK ON SIMON BILES DECISION TO DROP OUT OF TOKYO 2020
Black's injury came hours after one of her competitors, reigning Olympic champion Simone Biles, withdrew from the all-around competition to focus on her mental health.
Speaking to media on Wednesday, Black called Biles' decision “incredibly inspiring.”
“It’s really amazing for Simone to be able to, on that world stage, recognize what she needs, recognize that, even though it’s the Olympics, her mental health, her personal health, is a priority over an Olympic medal,” Black said.
The 24-year-old Biles first pulled out of the team final on Tuesday following one rotation because she felt she wasn't "mentally ready".
On Wednesday, Biles announced she would also be withdrawing from Thursday's all-around competition to focus on her mental well-being.
“That’s incredible and I think that’s very incredibly inspiring, to show we are just human over an athlete and we need to prioritize that," Black said. "There’s a lot of expectations and pressures, but a lot of it is what we put on ourselves,”
With files from the Canadian Press.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.