Olympians Swap Sports: Ellie Black teaches Maude Charron all about artistic gymnastics [video]
What happens when an Olympic champion weightlifter steps into the club of a globally respected gymnast?
We recently got the chance to find out when we tagged along with Maude Charron as she learned the essentials of artistic gymnastics from four-time Olympian Ellie Black.
“Just having this moment with Ellie was really special for me,” Charron said after their session. “I basically just wanted to have fun and overcome my fear on the high bar and that was so great.”
Long before she won two Olympic medals in weightlifting, Charron trained in gymnastics. But it had been 14 years since she last set foot on a balance beam or swung from the uneven bars. It was the chance to re-introduce Charron to her beloved sport that made the day special for Black.
“It’s been so much fun to do gymnastics with you because I know you have a background in it and it’s something that I feel like we’ve bonded over and been able to share,” said Black. “It was just great to play around in the gym, kind of rekindle that love and that joy…”
“Be a kid again,” Charron cut in.
You can see how it all went down in the video below, including Charron attempting her own version of Black’s floor exercise routine.
Afterwards, the coach was effusive in her praise of the student.
“I’m just so impressed with her athletic ability in general. But for her to not do gymnastics for such a long time and then to be able to come back into the gym and do these skills is so impressive. It is so physically hard but also mentally hard,” Black assessed. “She really executed everything perfectly. 10 out of 10, really.”
The appreciation was reciprocated.
“Ellie being such a talented athlete and a leader in Canadian gymnastics, it’s just amazing to see what she can do again now, still being the top one in the country, in the world, leading, and she has such a positive attitude every day of her life,” said Charron.
“Something I really appreciate is we are both older women in sport and we both have such a passion for what we do. And you can see that in the weightlifting gym, in the gymnastics club, and I think it’s just so cool to see us both pursuing our passions and showing that it doesn’t matter how old you are,” added Black. “I think that’s something that was really special about this collaboration.”
Did you catch Black mentioning weightlifting gym? Well, stay tuned. Part two of this series will see them swap roles as Charron introduces her friend to the sport that enticed her away from gymnastics.
