Gabby Douglas Wins All-Around Gold At London Olympics 2012
Gabby Douglas, 16, otherwise known as the "Flying Squirrel" defeated Russian frontrunners Victoria Komova and Aliya Mustafina, and walked away with the all-around gold medal. Hooray!
"That was awesome, seeing the flag raised and you're on top and the national anthem just playing," said Douglas. "You feel like you're in a concert. All these flashes ... I'm living on Cloud Nine."
To all the aspiring gymnast out there, Douglas, sends this inspirational message:
"I say keep fighting. I say push it. And it all pays off. Only believe in yourself."
The good-humored olympian absolutely recognizes how historic of a win the all-around gold is. "The all-around matters to me." She told reporters. " People keep saying I'm the first black American to win the [all-around] gold medal so I [thought], yeah, I forgot about that. It was amazing. I feel so honored."
However, she didn't know that she was the only American to score the coveted gold medal in both the team and all-around competitions. "Oh, wow." Douglas replied with fervent excitement when she was made aware of the news. "You learn something new every day."
Douglas's coach, Liang Chow, was especially concerned with the young athlete's "mental toughness" before the competitions began, but now believes, "...she can handle the toughest jobs." And added she made a "wonderful effort, wonderful performance under huge pressure for a 16 year old."
Team coordinator Marta Karolyi was likewise swelled with pride.
"She did so great improvement that it's incredible in this short time," said Karolyi. "I haven't seen any gymnast from an average, good gymnast five months ago, to climb up to the best in world. That's the truth."
Douglas has plans to further refine her acrobatic skills for the future, and is already itching to bring home the gold for the 2016 Olympics in Rio. "I want to stick with this," she expressed. "People tell me that I'm young and don't give it up."