Halifax gymnast Ellie Black wins Olympic sportsmanship award

Halifax gymnast Ellie Black says she feels honoured to win an Olympic award, which recognises athletes who demonstrate sportsmanship, fair play and respect for others.

The International Fair Play Committee and the International Olympic Committee announced Wednesday that Black has won the Paris 2024 Fair Play Award.

“I think it’s absolutely incredible and I feel incredibly honoured,” the four-time Olympian told CBC News in an interview Wednesday, shortly after a training session in her hometown.

“I think it really shows what the true meaning of sport is at the Olympic Games: bringing people together and sportsmanship, really taking into account everyone as an individual, as a human being first and foremost.”

Black was at the Alta Gymnastics club in Halifax on Wednesday when she heard she would receive the award.

“One of the other athletes at the gym had seen it online and I didn’t have my phone on me, so I hadn’t gotten any calls or seen any notifications or anything. I thought he was joking,” Black said.

“It was really special to see that and to be here with the team, the athletes that were training and the coaches, and to be able to experience that moment here at home in Halifax. It was really incredible.”

Athletes and fans submitted nominations for the award on social media, and a jury including representatives from the IOC and the International Fair Play Committee then selected a shortlist of finalists. The final decision was made by a public vote, which attracted tens of thousands of responses.

“We are delighted to see Ellie Black receive this well-deserved recognition,” said Jeno Kamuti, chair of the fair play committee. “Her example serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of sportsmanship and respect in competition.”

The Olympic Games website reports that Black’s athleticism was on display at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, when she led the Canadian team to a fifth-place finish and sixth in the individual all-around competition.

But it was an emotional interaction with a gymnast from the host country that captured the world’s attention.

The French team struggled through the competition, with star Melanie de Jesus dos Santos falling in each of her three opening routines, the website said. De Jesus dos Santos and Team France did not advance to a medal round.

“After the game, her Black teammate Shallon Olsen and her Canadian teammate De Jesus dos Santos consoled her, wiping away her tears and offering her big hugs and words of encouragement, reminding people around the world how important the Olympics are in uniting others around the world,” Scott Bregman wrote for Olympics.com.

Recalling the moment, which was captured on a cellphone and shared widely on social media, Black says she reached out to Jesus dos Santos to make her feel better after a difficult day.

Black said she has competed with the French gymnast over the years and is a friend. She said they were both on Simone Biles’ Gold Over America Tour in 2021 after the Tokyo Olympics and have stayed in touch. Black said Jesus dos Santos is “an incredible person and athlete.”

“I just wanted to go to her and comfort her and remind her that it’s not her gymnastics, it’s who she is as a person… a bad day or results, they don’t define who you are. They don’t define what you’ve done, what you’ve contributed to the sport, what you’ve contributed to all these people,” she said.

“All the spectators were there to cheer her on, to cheer France on, no matter what. Even after she fell, they chanted her name.”

According to Black, gymnasts, regardless of their background, can understand the pressure.

“It can be really tough. You go through the highest highs and the lowest lows. And so I was just glad that we could give her some support so that she wouldn’t feel alone.”

Ellie Black shares how her incredible gymnastics career shaped her into the person she is today

Ellie Black talks about her career as it heads towards her fourth Olympic Games in Paris 2024.

Black documented much of her Olympic experience on her Instagram account, creating fun and humorous videos with her fellow athletes, but also exposing the difficulties that can sometimes come with competing.

“I’m writing this to all the athletes who made it to the Olympics and those who didn’t. Those who won and lost, those who had personal success or felt like they fell short in their dreams and their work. I hope you know that you are enough,” she wrote.

“Who you are, what you contribute to the sport, being a role model to so many others, being your unique authentic self — that is so much more than enough.”

The other finalists for the Fair Play Award were World Rowing President Jean-Christophe Rolland, fencer Csanad Gemsi from Hungary, cyclists Fariba Hashimi from Afghanistan and Hanna Tserakh from Belarus, and German mission leader Olaf Tabor.

Black said she was on vacation in Italy with friends after the Paris Olympics. She has been busy training since returning to Halifax and said she will join the Gold Over America Tour when it starts in the U.S. next month.