Gabby Douglas

Gabby Douglas
Gabrielle "Gabby" Douglas |

Douglas appearing at Citi Field to throw first pitch for a Mets-Rockies game |
Personal information |
Full name | Gabrielle Christina Victoria Douglas |
Nickname(s) | Flying Squirrel, Brie |
Country represented | United States |
Born | (1995-12-31) December 31, 1995 (age 16)
Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States |
Residence | West DesMoines, Iowa, United States |
Height | 4 feet 11 inches (1.50 m) |
Discipline | Women's artistic gymnastics |
Level | Senior International Elite |
Years on national team | 2010–present |
Gym | Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute – West Des Moines |
Head coach(es) | Liang Chow |
Former coach(es) | Dena Walker, Gustavo Moure |
Music | "Bon, Bon" (Pitbull, DJ Alvaro mix of "We NoSpeak Americano" by Yolanda Be Cool and DCUP) |
Medal record[hide] Women's gymnastics |
Competitor for United States |
Olympic Games |
Gold | 2012 London | Team |
Gold | 2012 London | All-Around |
World Championships |
Gold | 2011 Tokyo | Team |
Pacific Rim Championships |
Gold | 2012 Seattle | Team |
Gold | 2012 Seattle | Uneven Bars |
Visa Championships |
Gold | 2012 St.Louis | Uneven Bars |
Silver | 2012 St. Louis | All-Around |
Bronze | 2011 St. Paul | Uneven Bars |
Bronze | 2012 St. Louis | Floor Exercise |
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Gabrielle Christina Victoria "Gabby" Douglas (born December 31, 1995) is an American artistic gymnast. As a member of the U.S. Women's Gymnastics team at the 2012 Summer Olympics, she won gold medals in both the individual and team all-aroundcompetitions. Douglas is the first woman of color and the first African-American gymnast in Olympic history to become the individual all-around champion, and the first American gymnast to win gold in both the individual all-around and team competitions at the same Olympics. She was also a member of the gold-winning U.S. team at the 2011 World Championships.
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Early life
Gabrielle ChristinaVictoria Douglas was born on December 31, 1995 in Virginia Beach, Virginia[6] to parents Timothy Douglas and Natalie Hawkins.She has three siblings. She began training in gymnastics at age six when her older sister, Arielle, convinced their mother to enroll her in gymnastics classes.Douglas began her training under the supervision of coach Dena Walker at Excalibur Gymnastics in Virginia Beach.
Atthe age of eight, Douglas won the Level 4 all-around gymnastics title at the 2004 Virginia State Championships.
Junior career
2010
Douglas made her national debut at the 2010 Nastia Liukin Supergirl Cup, a televised Level 10 meet held in Worcester, Massachusetts, where Douglas placed fourth all-around.
Her first elite meet was the 2010 CoverGirl Classic in Chicago, Illinois, where Douglasplaced third on balance beam, 6th on vault and 9th all-around in the junior division.
At the 2010 U.S. Junior National Championships, Douglas won the silver medal on balance beam, placed fourth all-around and on vault, and tied for eighth on floor exercise.At the 2010 Pan American Championships in Guadalajara, Mexico, Douglas won the uneven bars title, and she won a share of the U.S. team goldmedal. She also placed fifth all-around.
In October, at age 14, Douglas moved from Virginia Beach to West Des Moines, Iowa to train under Liang Chow, the former coach of 2007 World Champion and 2008 Summer Olympics gold medalist Shawn Johnson.Douglas was home schooled by her host family. Although Douglas' former coach, Walker, stated in 2012 that she was convinced Douglas could have made it to theOlympics if she had remained in Virginia Beach, Douglas said, "Something clicked in my head that said, if I really want to make this happen I need to get better coaching." The impetus for Douglas's move to Iowa was when Walker had invited Chow to teach a clinic at her gym, Excalibur. Douglas was impressed when Chow was able to teach her how to perform the Amanar vault in a single afternoon....