Black pushes the envelope in women’s gymnastics

Ellie Black was once a non-factor on the uneven bars. She now has a skill named after her.

Ellie Black was once a non-factor on the uneven bars. She now has a skill named after her.

The 28-year-old from Halifax will become the first Canadian to compete in artistic gymnastics in four Olympic Games when women’s qualification starts Sunday in Paris.

The uneven bars was once Black’s weakest apparatus. She reached her first world championship bars final last year to place eighth in Antwerp, Belgium, where she also ranked fifth in vault.

“In her first Olympics, she didn’t compete on the bars,” her coach David Kikuchi said. “The team didn’t want her to go anywhere near the bars.

“Bars has been a huge improvement over the years and now to be one of the best eight in the world in her worst event is amazing.”

A gymnast who performs an element that no one has ever done in high-level competition becomes eponymous with that skill.

In 2022, Black executed a release move in which she flies over the top bar and adds a half turn upon catching the bar again. The “Black” was subsequently added to the sport’s points code.

“It’s one of the hardest skills out there,” Kikuchi said. “She does it in combination with something else, so it’s really worth a lot of points, but it’s difficult.”