Ellie Black wins silver medal at Glasgow World Cup
Ellie Black wins silver medal at Glasgow World Cup
Posted Saturday, December 6, 2014 GLASGOW, Scotland -- Ellie Black came up with one of her best competitions of the year on Saturday to win the silver medal in a hand picked field of eight finalists at a star studded World Cup gymnastics meet.
World championship silver medallist Larisa Iordache swept all four events to win gold with a score of 59.232 points.
Black, the two-time Canadian all around champion, placed second with 56.432 points and Jessica Lopez of Venezuela took the bronze with a score of 55.899.
“Everything wasn’t perfect but I did improve on some of the things I had trouble with last week, and to finish on the podium was amazing,” said Black, who bounced back from a 7th place all around finish at a World Cup meet last weekend in Stuttgart, Germany.
“You're standing on the podium with the best girls in the world and just to be part of that is incredible.”
Black was solid on all four events but came up with her best performance on the balance beam with a score of 14.833 points, second only to Iordache at 15.166.
The Glasgow competition is the second in a series of three invitational all around World Cup meets limited to eight gymnasts, plus one wild card, with a maximum of two entries per country.
Until this year Black’s top scores have generally come on vault and floor but her new beam routine is attracting international attention and has made her a consistent medal threat.
“This year we added a big skill to her beam routine with the intent of making any final and more often than not that’s the way it worked out,” said her longtime coach David Kikuchi, who has overseen Black’s steady rise from their training base at the Alta Gymnastics club in Halifax.
“It’s a hard routine and a risky routine and whenever she can hit it nicely, it’s always a good thing. To be good enough to earn a spot to these World Cups and to be right up there with some of the best girls in the world is great.”
Meanwhile, at the Mexico Open in Acapulco, Helody Cyrenne of Montreal placed seventh all around in the women’s competition.
