Ellie Black the gymnast and chef
Another baked goods lover in the elite gymnastics’ community is fan favourite Ellie Black.
Such is the Canadian’s passion for healthy, nutritious food, the three-time Olympian has created an #EatingwithEllie hashtag to showcase her nutritional favourites from making pumpkin spice energy balls to healthy banana chocolate chip muffins.
The three-time World medallist also populates her Instagram feed with pictures of her at the market buying fresh produce such as carrots, then requesting favourite recipes from her foodie followers.
The process of creating healthy food also provides a distraction from the intensity of elite gymnastics.
“Making a home cooked meal is one of my favourite things to do,” posted Black alongside a recipe for crispy chicken, steamed broccoli, and quinoa. “I love knowing what I’m putting into my body, and I also just love cooking for myself as well as my family. I find it therapeutic!”
Fuelling for competition is important too, with one food item a particular favourite for the most successful Canadian gymnast of all time.
“One of the foods I like to experiment the most with is eggs because it can get kind of repetitive if you’re always eating chicken or the same proteins,” Black told Saltwire ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in July 2021. “Switching it up as an athlete is also important because we travel so much and we’re always on the go so it’s important to meal plan and have recipes ready for when it’s time to go.”
The philosophy ‘control the controllables’ touted by elite athletes can be applied to food too, she says.
Removing the decision-making process around what to eat during a whirlwind event like the Olympic Games, keeps any potentially mentally draining choices to a minimum, says Black.
“We’ll do the same preparation as a team and individually for competition we would normally do because it’ll be really important to keep it familiar,” she said. “For me, for example, when I’m getting ready to compete, my favourite pre-competition meal is hardboiled eggs and oatmeal and fruit. Whether that’s in the morning, at lunch or in the evening, that’s what I eat the day I’m competing.
“It’s great because two large eggs give you 13g of protein, which is going to help with my energy for what I need to do but stuff like that you can keep in your control. So even if you’re travelling or you’re at a training camp or at a competition, you can still focus on your usual routines, your meals and your post-competition recovery.”
With a fourth Olympic Games potentially on the horizon, at Paris 2024, Black has worked out what’s best for her in order to perform and train at her optimum.