Ernestine Russell

Ernestine Jean Russell (born June 10, 1938), later known by her married names Ernestine Carter and Ernestine Weaver, is a Canadian former gymnast and American former college gymnastics coach. She represented Canada in the 1956 and 1960 Summer Olympics. Although Russell won no medals in her two Olympic appearances, she is regarded as Canada's first notable female Olympic gymnast and contributed significantly to the growing popularity of women's gymnastics in Canada and the United States.

Russell later became a college gymnastics coach, leading the women's programs at Clarion State College and the University of Florida, where her teams won three college national championships.

Ernestine "Ernie" Russell was born and raised in Windsor, Ontario. She learned ballet early on from her mother who taught dance training as an instructor at the British Royal Academy. As her training progressed, it became apparent that she lacked the body to become a ballerina.

Bernie Newman, the Russell family's neighbor and a future member of the provincial parliament, had formed a vocational boys' gymnastics team, and suggested to Russell that she try the trampoline. She was quoted as saying "I got on, and I never got off."

Russell would compete for the first time when she was 13 years old, and won nine Canadian championships. Newman would be a leading force that would encourage her throughout the years, hoping that he would one day see her in the Olympic Games.

Russell, at age 17, qualified for the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. She was the first Canadian to compete in Olympic gymnastics events since 1908, and the first Canadian woman to ever compete in the Olympics. Although her routine was ill-prepared, she performed well in the floor exercise, the balance beam and the vault. She finished among the top twenty in the floor exercise, 45th in the vault, 56th in the all-around, and 61st in the balance beam and uneven bars.

After she graduated from Kennedy Collegiate Institute in 1956, she continued to pursue her focus in gymnastics.

At the 1959 Pan American Games in Chicago, Russell won gold medals for all-around, vault, uneven bars, and floor exercise, and a silver in balance beam, which made her the first Canadian medal winner in an international gymnastics competition. The Canadian team finished second behind the U.S. team.

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