Gabrielle Douglas, born on December 31, 1995, is from Virginia Beach, Virginia. Gabby started gymnastics when she was around six years old. Gymnasts usually start at a young age but she got a later start than most. When she turned 14 she moved to Iowa with a host family that she didn't even know and trained with skilled coach Liang Chow. When she was 14 she was living so far away from her family just to pursue her dreams. This shows us that Gabby was a determined gymnast and was going to want to go all the way to the top.
The more Gabby started competing, the better she got. She first started out as just an ordinary girl in Virginia, but then she caught the eye of many top coaches around the US and all over the world. People started to think she was going to be the next big thing. Gabby was willing to do whatever it was going to take to be the best gymnast she possibly could. She had her family and friends supporting her even though they didn't get to see her often.
Accomplishments in her gymnastics career
Gabby competed in the 2010 Nastia Liukin Cup. This was her competition on national television. She placed 4th all around, 3rd on beam, and 6th on vault. At the 2010 US junior national championships, she won a silver medal on beam and 4th all around. She then was on the senior national team and helped the United States earn first place. Gabby’s ability to gain an extreme amount of height releasing from the bars made her get the nickname “The Flying Squirrel.”
At the 2012 summer olympic trials, Gabby Douglas beat Jordyn Wieber, which at the time was the reigning national champion. By beating Jordyn Wieber, she secured a spot on the Olympic team. While in London Gabby Douglas, Jordyn Wieber, Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney, and Kyla Ross won a gold medal. It was the first for the US women’s gymnastics team since 1996. The team called themselves the “Fierce Five.” Individually, Gabby competed in the all-around events and ended up with the highest all-around score out of anybody.
At the 2012 summer Olympics she won 2 gold medals. One of the gold medals was for the team all-around. The other gold medal was the individual all-around title. She became the first African American woman to claim the individual all-around title. In 2016 Gabby was a part of the “Final Five” and competed in the 2016 Rio Olympic games. She helped to take home a team gold medal, and this was the last Olympics she attended and competed in.
Gabby has gone on to be in movies and documentaries about her life and everything she went through to get to the top. Gabby is now retired but is still a known face to all in the gymnastics atmosphere. She achieved all of her goals by going to the Olympics and being the best she could possibly be.