1. Ernestine Russell represented Canada in the 1956 and 1960 Summer Olympics.
13 Facts About Ernestine Russell
1. 2.
Ernestine 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.
3.
Ernestine "Ernie" Russell was born and raised in Windsor, Ontario.
4.
Ernestine Russell learned ballet early on from her mother who taught dance training as an instructor at the British Royal Academy.
5.
Ernestine Russell would compete for the first time when she was 13 years old, and won nine Canadian championships.
6.
Ernestine Russell was the first Canadian to compete in Olympic gymnastics events since 1908, and the first Canadian woman to ever compete in the Olympics.
7.
Ernestine Russell 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.
8.
At the 1959 Pan American Games in Chicago, Ernestine 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.
9.
Ernestine Russell received a tuition-only scholarship offer from Michigan State University, and the opportunity to train with the Michigan State Spartans men's gymnastics team under head coach George Szypula.
10.
Ernestine Russell married John Carter, a Michigan State Spartans baseball player in December 1959.
11.
Ernestine Russell then accepted an offer to become the head gymnastics coach for at the University of Florida, where she made a large impact upon joining the Florida Gators women's gymnastics team.
12.
Ernestine Russell was named national coach of the year in 1982, when Florida won the AIAW gymnastics championship.
13.
Ernestine Russell was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as an "Honorary Letterwinner" in 2013.