Gabby Douglas made a big compromise to become the first African American to win the individual all-around title at the Olympics. Douglas declared at home,  “I need better coaching if I’m going to make it to the Olympics.” At just 14, she left her childhood home close to Virginia Beach, her mother, two sisters, her brother, and her two beloved dogs.

As it happened, Douglas achieved her goal of making a lasting impression at the 2012 London Olympics. An excerpt from her memoir goes into additional depth about the coaching adjustment she underwent before her much-looked-back Olympic debut.

Gabby Douglas took the leap of faith

Despite all the roadblocks, Gabby Douglas is one athlete who can assert that she drove herself to achieve the Olympic goals. It all happened when Douglas’s coach, Dena Walker, once told her- “I can’t believe you did so good,” adding, “I thought you might be ninth or tenth in the all-around — but never fourth.” “I couldn’t believe what I’d just heard — and neither could Mom, ” Douglas wrote in her autobiography, “Grace, Gold, and Glory: My Leap of Faith,” published in December 2012. Douglas went on to say, “You see, how can I have faith in myself if my coach doesn’t have faith in me?”

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Taking matters into her own hands Gabby’s mom called a new coach and said, “Gabrielle would like to train with you.”  “Let’s set up Gabrielle with a one-week trial in Iowa,” replied coach Chow which was all that young Douglas needed. Teen Douglas who was all in for the Olympics, bravely battled throughout her full-time training under coach Liang Chow and shifted 1,200 miles to West Des Moines, Iowa, where she lived with a white family.

As the coach of 2007 World Champion and 2008 Summer Olympics gold medalist Shawn Johnson, Liang Chow has a stellar reputation. The fact that Chow could teach Gabby how to complete the Amanar vault in just one afternoon astonished the gymnast. She later missed some time off the mats due to a hamstring issue and a hip flexor injury however, what transpired after that was quite remarkable.

Gabby Douglas’s rise to gymnastics fame

Douglas tied for third on the bars and finished seventh at the 2011 U.S. National Championships after training under Chow. Next year at June’s U.S. National Championships Douglas won bronze in the floor, silver in all-around, and gold in uneven bars after which she earned the moniker “Flying Squirrel” from USA Gymnastics National Team Coordinator Márta Károlyi for her aerial skills on the uneven bars.

Additionally, Douglas’s action was crucial to creating Olympic history as the first black American woman to win and compete in all-around. She also became the fourth female American to win the title after Nastia Liukin in 2008, Carly Patterson in 2004, and Mary Lou Retton in 1984.

Continue Reading “Be Careful What You Ask For”: Gabby Douglas Once Had To Bite Her Tongue After a Joke Almost Put Her in Serious Trouble