U.S. gymnast Gabby Douglas was the star of the 2012 London games, becoming the first African American gymnast to ever win gold in both the team and individual all-around at the same Olympics. But, in 2016, Douglas’ Olympic experience didn’t go as smoothly in Rio De Janeiro. Unfortunately, she failed to qualify for the individual all-around competition and then finished seventh overall in the uneven bars final.
To add to this, she was also criticized on social media for not placing her hand over her heart during the playing of the U.S. national anthem and later for not appearing to support her teammates Simon Biles and Aly Raisman during their all-around final events.
Douglas stated…”I have no regrets coming back for a second Olympic team,” she said after the uneven bars final. “It’s been an amazing experience. It’s been teaching me a lot.”
Douglas walked away from Rio with a gold for the team all-around event for the second time in a row. Since gymnasts typically retire young, Douglas is not expected to return to the Tokyo games in 2020.
Unfortunately, I also believe it is true the Douglas will not return to the 2020 Olympics. Sometimes gymnasts that train at the Olympic level get burnt out, resulting in them only being able to compete in one or two Olympic games. I do believe Douglas was burnt out in the 2016 games, so its highly unlikely she will be returning to the 2020 games in Tokyo. What do you guys believe? Do you agree that Douglas is officially retired and not returning to try and make the 2020 Olympics?
A day after taking the team title and the top two spots in the junior and senior all-arounds, the U.S. women picked up an additional 12 medals in event finals at the 2018 Pacific Rim Championships in Medellin, Colombia.
In their debuts with the U.S national team, Grace McCallum and Jordan Bowers came away with the all-around titles at the Pacific Rim Championships in Medellin, Colombia. McCallum finished with a 54.850 to win the senior crown while Bowers finished with a 53.600 to win the junior crown.