Ellie Black readying for Pan Am Games and 2016 Olympics

Halifax gymnast Ellie Black is taking a break from school as she trains for this summer's Pan Am Games in Toronto.

Black, 19, has been a competitive gymnast since she was nine. She was studying kinesiology at Dalhousie University, but is taking this year and next year off to focus on her competitions.

She trains at least five times a week at the Halifax Alta Gymnastics Club. She's in the gym for hours at a time.

"When I was younger, I knew it was going to be lots of work, but it was tough for me to know because I came from a small club in Nova Scotia where we don't have many high-level athletes," Black told CBC's Information Morning.

She says a lot of training hours go into the few minutes of competition.

"You have to put in that many hours to be at that level," said Black.

She has competed around the world, including at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. She was the back-to-back Canadian national all-around champion in 2013 and 2014.

Her next challenge is qualifying for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

"It's kind of scary what you have to put into that, but that's something I wanted to take on and I'm really glad that I did," she said.

"It's kind of in my personality that I want to be that good. I'm going to put [in] whatever it takes to get to that level and you know, hopefully make it there."

The Pan Am Games run from July 10 to 26.