Ellie Black sometimes gets overlooked by casual fans because she is from Canada, but she is one of my favorite gymnasts of all time. To be fair, I’m partial to any gymnast who does front handspring vaults, and she has an excellent handspring front full (and even a rudi at one point). I also have to give props to anyone who can rock a maple-leaf-themed leotard — I appreciate Canada’s commitment to a theme. Black is the most decorated female Canadian gymnast of all time and has been one of the top gymnasts in the world for over a decade, competing at a total of four Olympics: London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024. Her longevity is rivaled by few gymnasts and at age 29, she is only getting better. Part of that is certainly due to her training philosophy and commitment to sport-life balance: she trains only 23 hours a week. While 23 hours of training is considerable in many sports, it’s relatively light in the world of gymnastics, where some gymnasts train as many as 40 hours a week. The way she trains reminds me of Chellsie Memmel’s training plan during her comeback. Memmel would condition every day but only practice actual gymnastics three days a week, focusing on strength and physical fitness and relying on muscle memory retained from years of prior training. Black also incorporates weight training into her routine, which is uncommon in gymnastics and likely contributes to her strength on vault. Black started gymnastics at age six in Halifax, Nova Scotia and also trained in figure skating for a few years until she was forced to make choose between them at age nine. She certainly comes from an athletic family — her older sister Karen competed in figure skating at an elite level and her younger brother William was the Canadian national vault champion in 2016. I also love her sense of humor. I enjoyed watching her have fun on the Gold Over America Tour with other top American and international gymnasts. She made a hilarious video where she dressed up as “Pommel Horse Guy” Stephen Nedoroscik and completed circles on the mushroom in honor of his advancement to the finale of Dancing with the Stars. Several years ago, she also performed a humorous men’s style floor routine for the Superstars of Gymnastics exhibition. Black carries over this attitude to the competitive field — she won the Paris 2024 Olympic Fair Play Award (for sportsmanship) when she comforted French gymnast Melanie De Jesus Dos Santos after a disastrous qualifying round for the home team. I appreciate Black because she is just such a solid person overall, inside and outside of sports. Side note: There’s exciting news! USA Gymnastics recently announced Providence, Rhode Island will host the USA Gymnastics Championships in 2025. This is the national competition for American rhythmic gymnastics, acrobatic gymnastics and trampoline & tumbling. The competition will run from June 16–21 at the Amica Mutual Pavillion and Rhode Island Convention Center. If students are here for the summer, Providence is easily accessible by the MBTA commuter rail. This is a perfect chance to take a day trip and see some cool disciplines of gymnastics. Tickets aren’t yet available but will be posted on the website. Check it out!

Ellie Black sometimes gets overlooked by casual fans because she is from Canada, but she is one of my favorite gymnasts of all time. To be fair, I’m partial to any gymnast who does front handspring vaults, and she has an excellent handspring front full (and even a rudi at one point). I also have to […]

Ellie Black sometimes gets overlooked by casual fans because she is from Canada, but she is one of my favorite gymnasts of all time. To be fair, I’m partial to any gymnast who does front handspring vaults, and she has an excellent handspring front full (and even a rudi at one point). I also have to give props to anyone who can rock a maple-leaf-themed leotard — I appreciate Canada’s commitment to a theme.

Black is the most decorated female Canadian gymnast of all time and has been one of the top gymnasts in the world for over a decade, competing at a total of four Olympics: London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024. Her longevity is rivaled by few gymnasts and at age 29, she is only getting better. Part of that is certainly due to her training philosophy and commitment to sport-life balance: she trains only 23 hours a week. While 23 hours of training is considerable in many sports, it’s relatively light in the world of gymnastics, where some gymnasts train as many as 40 hours a week. The way she trains reminds me of Chellsie Memmel’s training plan during her comeback. Memmel would condition every day but only practice actual gymnastics three days a week, focusing on strength and physical fitness and relying on muscle memory retained from years of prior training. Black also incorporates weight training into her routine, which is uncommon in gymnastics and likely contributes to her strength on vault.

Black started gymnastics at age six in Halifax, Nova Scotia and also trained in figure skating for a few years until she was forced to make choose between them at age nine. She certainly comes from an athletic family — her older sister Karen competed in figure skating at an elite level and her younger brother William was the Canadian national vault champion in 2016.

I also love her sense of humor. I enjoyed watching her have fun on the Gold Over America Tour with other top American and international gymnasts. She made a hilarious video where she dressed up as “Pommel Horse Guy” Stephen Nedoroscik and completed circles on the mushroom in honor of his advancement to the finale of Dancing with the Stars. Several years ago, she also performed a humorous men’s style floor routine for the Superstars of Gymnastics exhibition. Black carries over this attitude to the competitive field — she won the Paris 2024 Olympic Fair Play Award (for sportsmanship) when she comforted French gymnast Melanie De Jesus Dos Santos after a disastrous qualifying round for the home team. I appreciate Black because she is just such a solid person overall, inside and outside of sports.

Side note: There’s exciting news! USA Gymnastics recently announced Providence, Rhode Island will host the USA Gymnastics Championships in 2025. This is the national competition for American rhythmic gymnastics, acrobatic gymnastics and trampoline & tumbling. The competition will run from June 16–21 at the Amica Mutual Pavillion and Rhode Island Convention Center. If students are here for the summer, Providence is easily accessible by the MBTA commuter rail. This is a perfect chance to take a day trip and see some cool disciplines of gymnastics. Tickets aren’t yet available but will be posted on the website. Check it out!