Canada’s Ellie Black withdraws from Olympic gymnastics all-around competition – National

Canadian gymnast Ellie Black will not compete in the all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympics, the Canadian Olympic Committee announced Wednesday morning.

In a press release, the COC and Gymnastics Canada said that the 25-year-old Black had suffered an injury and was unable to compete in Thursday’s event.

“We have the unfortunate news of sharing that Ellie sprained her ankle during Tuesday’s training session and has made the difficult decision to withdraw from the all-around event,” said COC Chief Sport Officer Eric Myles. “We are hoping that she is still able to compete in the beam final on August 3.”

Black placed fifth in this event at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Canada’s best-ever result.

Thursday’s all-around final will be missing another star too – American gymnast Simone Biles, who is the defending champion, will also skip the event, according to USA Gymnastics.

“After further medical evaluation, Simone Biles has withdrawn from the final individual all-around competition,” USA Gymnastics wrote on Twitter. “We wholeheartedly support Simone’s decision and applaud her bravery in prioritizing her well-being. Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many.”

Biles withdrew from the team gymnastics event Tuesday after completing just a single vault.