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Gabby Douglas Speaks Out About Her Future in Gymnastics: "Very Bittersweet"
Sidelined from Paris due to an injury, the gold medalist is excited about potentially "representing the USA" at the 2028 Olympics.
Champion gymnast Gabby Douglas’ eye is on the prize at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“I know it’s four years away, but I’m looking forward to it,” Douglas, 28, told People. “Still representing the USA, still continuing to do gymnastics, so I'm excited.”
Douglas, the 2012 Olympic all-around gold medalist, had hopes to compete at the Games in Paris. But an ankle injury in May sidelined her from Olympic trials in June, so she’s had to rethink her plan.
As an elite gymnast she’s already shown that she’s mastered the skills of flexibility and strength. Now she's going to need patience.
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Gabby Douglas’ Olympics Legacy
Born in Virginia in 1995, Douglas, a self-described “super daredevil,” started out in gymnastics when she was 6. “I always loved going to the gym and challenging myself. I would always just flip and try new things.”
Douglas notched her place into the history books at the London Games in 2012. She became the first Black gymnast to win all-around gold. She shared Team USA’s gold medal.
Her Olympic gilded age was just getting started. Four years later, at the Games in Rio in 2018, she was on the “Final Five” squad that included Paris-bound Simone Biles that won the team gold.
Eight years later, Douglas’s Olympic comeback in Paris was the plan. But gymnastics, like life, comes with twists and turns you can’t always control.
Did Gabby Douglas make the gymnastics team?
In the week leading up to the U.S. Gymnastics Championship, Douglas was in training and suffered a game-changing ankle injury on the balance beam.
“And it was actually doing my signature skill, which is the [standing] full on the beam,” Douglas told People. “It was very bittersweet.”
It was also definitive. The meet was her last chance to earn an invitation to compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Minneapolis in June. Good-bye, Paris. Hello, L.A.
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Douglas’ Life Today
Douglas is keenly aware that she will be 32 when the 2028 Games commence. She’s determined not to let her age define her Olympic effort.
“I feel like at this point, age is really just a number because my body can still do amazing things even at 28,” she told People.
In addition to following a “proper diet, structure [and] schedule,” she’s embraced something else to give her a winning edge. She’s working with Ancestry to see how her genetics can influence her athletic abilities, the magazine reported.
The Ancestry DNA test revealed her preference for team sports, a natural affinity for flexibility and strength, and that she’s motivated by success.
It also showed there’s room for improvement in the areas of good technique and balance. If there’s one thing Douglas loves it’s pushing herself to new heights and achievements.
“My favorite part is the competition,” she said in the interview. “I love getting in the gym, challenging myself, and I have had a ball playing around with different skills.”
One of the pluses of mastering new goals is the mental buzz and hum that emerges. Douglas said she has felt that rush “from doing different things and realizing, 'Oh man, I still got it.'”
Douglas plans to use everything she's got at the Olympics in 2028.
