Ellie Black

Elsabeth Ann Black (born September 8, 1995) is a Canadian artistic gymnast.

Black was born on September 8, 1995, in Halifax, Nova Scotia to parents Thomas and Katharine Black.

Her older sister, Karen, competed in figure skating, and her younger brother William also competed in gymnastics.

She began gymnastics when she was nine years old after watching Gymnastics at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Originally, she trained in both gymnastics and figure skating, but she decided to focus only on gymnastics.

In December 2008, Black competed at the junior level at Elite Canada, an annual event for elite-level Canadian gymnasts, and placed sixteenth in the all-around and won the bronze medal on vault.

Then at 2009 Elite Canada in Oakville, Ontario, she placed tenth in the all-around competition and third on vault.

At the 2010 Canadian Championships in Kamloops, British Columbia, she placed fourteenth in the all-around final.

In event finals, she placed third on vault and won the balance beam title.

Then in December 2010, she competed at Elite Canada in Gatineau, Quebec.

She placed fourteenth in the all-around, and she won the silver medal on vault.

Black became age-eligible for senior international competition in 2011, but she missed the entire 2011 season after having surgery for a dislocated and broken toe and then dislocating her elbow.

In February, Black made her senior debut at Elite Canada in Mississauga, Canada, and placed ninth in the all-around.

In event finals, Black won the gold medal on vault and the bronze medal on balance beam.

Then in March, she made her international debut at the International Gymnix held in Montreal and finished second in the all-around.

Then in the event finals, she won the gold medal on vault and the silver medal on balance beam.

She then competed at the Osijek World Challenge Cup and won her first FIG World Cup medals with gold on both the vault and floor exercise.

She is a three-time Olympian, having represented her country at the 2012, 2016, and 2020 Olympic Games.

Black began competing internationally in 2012 and helped the 2012 Canadian Olympic team qualify for their first Olympic team final where they finished fifth.

Black's successful results at these international competitions suddenly made her a strong contender for the 2012 Olympic team.

In May, Black competed at the Canadian Championships in Regina, Canada.

She placed third all-around in qualifications but dropped to seventh in the all-around final.

In event finals, she placed first on vault and third on floor.

At the end of June, Black was one of the twelve gymnasts chosen to compete at the Final Olympic Selection meet in Gatineau, Canada.

On the first day of competition she placed sixth in the all-around and second on vault.

Based on her performances here and at the Canadian Championships, she was selected to the five-member Olympic team alongside Kristina Vaculik, Victoria Moors, Brittany Rogers, and Dominique Pegg.

She was the first female gymnast living east of Montreal to ever make the Canadian Olympic team.

In July, Black made her Olympic debut at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom.

In 2013, she became the first Canadian female artistic gymnast to win a medal at the Universiade since 1983 by winning a silver medal on the floor exercise and a bronze medal on the balance beam.

She competed at her first Commonwealth Games in 2014 and won the gold medal on the balance beam.

She won five medals at the 2015 Pan American Games and was the most decorated Canadian athlete at the Games.

At the 2016 Olympic Games, Black finished fifth in the individual all-around final, Canada's best-ever result in the Olympic all-around.

She is the 2017 World all-around silver medalist, making her the first Canadian gymnast to win a world all-around medal, and she led the Canadian women's gymnastics team to a bronze medal in the 2022 World Championships team final, the first world team medal won by a Canadian gymnastics team.

She won a silver medal on the balance beam at the 2022 World Championships.

She won her first World medal in 2017 and won team and all-around gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

She is also the 2018 Commonwealth Games all-around champion, a two-time Pan American Games all-around champion (2015, 2019), and a six-time Canadian national all-around champion (2013-2015, 2017–2019).

In 2019, she became the first female gymnast to win back-to-back all-around titles at the Pan American Games and became Canada's most decorated gymnast ever at the Pan American Games.

At the 2020 Olympic Games, Black placed fourth in the balance beam final, the highest placement in the Olympics for a female Canadian gymnast.

She made her third Olympic appearance in 2020 and won two medals at the 2022 World Championships.

Black is the most decorated Canadian to ever compete in women's gymnastics.