Quebecois Frédérique Sgarbossa was 11 years old when she met her idol Elsabeth Black. Seven years later, she found herself at his side, but this time as a teammate at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.
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Just as Marie-Philip Poulin inspired a generation of hockey players, Black wrote the history of her sport in Canada. And like Poulin, the 28-year-old Nova Scotian, who has competed in three Olympic Games, also fulfills her role model role wonderfully.
“It’s really impressive to see them go. She is an incredible person, she is motivating and super funny,” assures Sgarbossa.
The 18-year-old athlete remembers the first time she saw Black during a competition in Gatineau, her hometown.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God!’ It was quite a moment. But I didn’t take his autograph with me to Belgium and didn’t tell him the story… “It’s a bit embarrassing,” Sgarbossa admits. I think every girl on the team has already asked her for an autograph.”
“Almost a coach”
The six Canadians form an inexperienced team at the World Championships in Antwerp. Only Black is back after helping the country climb to the third step of the podium last year, qualifying for the Maple Leaf Olympics two years in advance.
The news includes Aurélie Tran, who at 17 is the youngest Canadian in Belgium. She also takes an example from Black, who came fifth on the vault and eighth on the uneven bars.
Elsabeth Black at the uneven bars final on Saturday at the World Championships in Antwerp. AFP
“What I admire most is how she trains, her mindset, she is calm and very positive. She’s an idol, but having her as a teammate is even better,” Tran said.
“She has already given me technical advice on bars. I fell while moving [à l’entraînement] and she helped me. She is almost a trainer because she has so much experience,” explains the young woman from Repentigny.
New national champion
Tran and Sgarbossa are grateful to have veterans like Black and Quebec’s Rose Woo to count on as they compete in a world championship for the first time.
“This is my first international competition. It’s a great start to represent Canada!” says Sgarbossa during a video conference interview with Le Journal live from Antwerp.
And although the shy Tran came to Europe with the title of Canadian champion in her pocket, she didn’t put too much pressure on herself.
“Ellie Black and Rose Woo were injured at Nationals and didn’t use all the equipment. But I beat the others!” Tran points out.
Aurélie Tran in action during the World Cup qualifiers last Monday. AFP
A surprising reservist
For his part, Sgarbossa acted as a backup player, ready to take over at any moment, like a backup goalie in ice hockey.
“I really didn’t expect to be selected. I changed clubs two months before the selection camp. I had to change my training methods and adapt to a new environment. I didn’t really care about the result at camp; I wanted to show that I’m happy when I train,” says the woman who joined Tran at the Gymnix club in Montreal.
American Simone Biles impressed with the distance of her jumps during the World Championships. AFP
Dominance by Simone Biles
Sgarbossa was ultimately left out of action and Tran’s competition ended in qualifying, which was dominated by Simone Biles. The 26-year-old American did not miss her return to international competition, two years after the difficult Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Biles left Antwerp with four new world titles (team, individual all-around, beam and floor), but she achieved a total of 23 and 30 career medals in this event.
“Aurélie was nervous, that goes without saying at her first World Championships, but she contributed to the team rankings with four performances without any major mistakes [qui s’est classée 12e]», explained one of her trainers Francine Bouffard, whose colleague Katerine Dussault accompanied the national training.