Gabby Douglas makes history, touches hearts

The “Fab Five” made history on July 31, 2012, and among the group of teenage girls was Gabby Douglas. The 16 year old young lady made history, and touched a lot of hearts, by winning two gold medals in the Summer Olympics.

Being a Gold Medalist was said to have been Gabby’s number 1 memory at this point in her life, and for the past two years Gabby has exceeded the expectations of being in the spotlight. She has held the title of being the first woman of color to ever win gold in the gymnastics all-around competition.

Gabby started gymnastics at the age of four and has not stopped flipping, doing cartwheels and perfecting her skills since then. At age eight Gabby was crowned the first 2004 Gymnastics State Champion in Virginia.

At age 14, Gabby left her family in Virginia to go and train for the state Olympics with her trainer Liang Chow, who was also one of her biggest motivators. He pushed Gabby to new heights, and he is still coaching her for the 2016 Olympics. For Gabby to leave home at such a young age, and at the beginning of her youth, shows how dedicated she was and still is for her love of gymnastics.

Since that historical day in July, Gabby has kept exceptionally busy. She has been doing a lot of press for her Lifetime movie about her life titled “The Gabby Douglas Story,” which she says she is honored to have had a movie made about her. Gabby has also been working as a special correspondent for Inside Edition.

While adding these projects, Gabby has remained devoted to gymnastics. After a layoff, she is making time to train and stay in shape and ready for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Expectations will be high for Gabby, but she went nine months without hard training, and that is a great loss of time for an elite gymnast. Still, Chow knows that Gabby is a great performer and says that he is ready to whip her into Olympic shape.

Gabby is a great example of how doing something you love can have a great outcome and can change your life forever. She has remained focused, kept her humbleness, continued to keep up with the press and most of all kept her youthful spirit. Gabby made history, and though I know going into the Olympics in 2012 she wanted to win, I don’t think she thought she would change so many lives.

By: Taylor Rand