Canada’s Ellie Black out of all-around final with sprained ankle

TOKYO — Canadian gymnast Ellie Black has withdrawn from Thursday’s all-around final event at Tokyo Olympics with a sprained left ankle.

Black said she aggravated a previous injury when she landed awkwardly after a balance beam dismount while training on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old from Halifax, who is competing in her third Olympics, said the injury is particularly tough after she navigated a difficult year-and-a-half of training restrictions due to COVID-19 and injury just to make it to Tokyo.

“Hurting it here is difficult, it’s frustrating, it’s upsetting,” Black said at a press conference, fighting back tears. “But I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs, and this was just another one that I had to overcome.”

Black said she had hurt the same ankle during a beam training session in late June. She said at the time she wasn’t sure if she would recover in time to compete in Tokyo. 

Black’s withdrawal leaves Brooklyn Moors of Cambridge, Ont., as the only Canadian competing in the all-around final.

“I’ll be watching the competition tomorrow cheering on my teammate Brooklyn, but I wish more than anything that I could have been out on the floor with her.”

Black said she hoped her ankle would heal in time to participate in next week’s balance beam 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.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2021.

The Canadian Press