In the Olympic year of 2012, Gabby Douglas competed at the Pacific Rim Championships, winning a gold medal in the team final and for the uneven bars in the individual competition. I fell in love with her height on her releases over the uneven parallel bars. She was, without a doubt, going to the Olympics. I was supporting her and rooting for her the whole way.
At the Olympic Games in London in 2012, I watched Gabby nail routine after routine. Stuck landings on floor, perfect beam routine, nearly-perfect vaults, and an unbelievable bar routine. She was on her A-Game. Her energy on floor exercise was contagious, I couldn’t help but smile with her as she danced and tumbled her way towards a gold medal. She was the bubbly personality of the “Fierce Five,” and I idolized her for it.
Winning the 2012 Olympic Games in London was the icing on the cake. She won a gold medal alongside Aly Raisman, Jordyn Wieber, Kyla Ross, and McKayla Maroney in the team final. But this “Flying Squirrel” wasn’t done just yet. During the last rotation of the individual competition, Gabby’s goal was to defeat Viktoria Komova and Aliya Mustafina of Russia. She won by three-tenths of a point, earning her a second gold medal in London.
Not too much later, she was named AP’s Female Athlete of the Year.
And then, it was all downhill. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, she made accusations against her first training facility, Excalibur Gymnastics of Virginia Beach, VA. She claimed they were racist towards her while she was still there training. When asked about said accusations, gym owner Gustavo Maure stated that it was uncalled for, and that numerous African American gymnasts that have trained with Excalibur would disagree with Gabby’s statement. No one quite knows why such accusations were made and if they were true or not, but the fact that it came out just after she had won her two gold medals was shocking and almost ironic.
To make it all worse, Gabby leaked that Excalibur Gymnastics’ coaches lacked in coaching ability. This was the beginning of her social downfall, and the end of my respect for her. To disrespect the gym that got one started is just plain rude. Plot twist, Gabby, every coach has a different way of coaching. It doesn’t matter if you didn’t like their coaching abilities or methods, they got your career started – you’d be nothing without them.
Later, Gabby had made the decision to leave Liang Chow in Iowa in search of a new coach in Los Angeles, CA. She returned to Chow’s gym for a trial period to see if she wanted to train there and three months later, she left – again. It was rumored that Gabby wasn’t getting enough attention at Chow’s. I was disappointed yet again. Just because Chow doesn’t treat you like a TV star and treats you like a gymnast doesn’t mean you aren’t getting enough attention, Gabby. Someone that got you to the Olympics the first time can surely do it again, you just wanted to be treated like a god, and Chow treated you like every other athlete in the gym reaching for the same dream.
This year, at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Gabby wasn’t the center of attention. Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, and Laurie Hernandez were the three to watch. Simone Biles was the powerhouse of the group, she was sticking routine after routine and doing things no American gymnast has ever done before. I fell in love with Simone the way I fell in love with Gabby four years ago, but harder. Aly Raisman is the true comeback story – I watched her act as a mother-figure (hence the nickname “Mama Raisman”) to the other girls and nail her floor routine with a signature first tumbling pass. And Laurie Hernandez, what an amazing young gymnast. She excelled at the balance beam, every routine seemingly flawless. I’m glad Gabby wasn’t getting the attention she wanted, it was about damn time someone else got it.
When Gabby was selected over Ashton Locklear, Ragan Smith, and MyKayla Skinner for the Olympic Team, I was angry. It looked as if Martha Karolyi only picked her because she was a returner; I knew Martha chose her for her bars abilities, but I think Ashton Locklear or Ragan Smith could’ve done the job just as well, if not better.
At the Olympic Games almost two weeks ago, Gabby wasn’t smiling at the judges or during any of her routines and sulking in the back, almost as if she was wishing one of her teammates would make a mistake so she could win. Sound familiar? Let’s flashback to when Haley Graham sabotaged Mina Hoyt and Wei Wei Yong in “Stick It,” Gabby was probably attempting to channel her inner Haley Graham. Maybe if Gabby trained harder she wouldn’t be so angry at others’ success – she’d be the success.
And after all the training she did, she didn’t get any better. In the 2012 Olympic Games, Gabby competed an amanar, a yurchenko vault with two-and-a-half twists. Two weeks ago, she competed a double-twisting yurchenko vault – one-half twist less than her last Olympic Games. Look at Aly Raisman, she got so much better over the last four years and that’s the exact reason she qualified. Here’s your wake-up call, Gabby: maybe if you didn’t spend so much time focusing on your TV show or switching gyms ever three months, you might’ve qualified. When she came in third to Simone Biles and Aly Raisman, she had a look of revenge and disgust all over her face. Qualifying for the All-Around Final was her goal and I’m happy she didn’t reach it.
At the All-Around Final last week, Gabby sat with teammates Madison Kocian and Laurie Hernandez to watch Simone Biles and Aly Raisman compete. Madison and Laurie stood on their feet clapping and cheering on Simone and Aly as they won gold and silver medals. Meanwhile, Gabby was sitting down, barely clapping and not smiling, as if she didn’t remember she was on national television. Gabby, your jealous is showing, please shove it under the rug next time.
Gabby’s disrespect, lack of improvement, and overall bitchiness has earned her a spot in the stands, and I couldn’t be happier for her. Payback is a bitch, huh Gabby? Maybe now you’ll learn to be happy for others the way I’m happy for you.
