Gabby Douglas has announced her return to competitive gymnastics, and she has her eye set on competing in Paris!
Douglas, the first Black gymnast to win the Olympic gold medal all-around in 2012, told NBC’s Hallie Jackson that she would love to represent the USA “one more time.”
The three-time Olympic gold medalist spoke with Jackson Tuesday about her decision to return to competitive gymnastics for the first time in nearly a decade.
“I’m still a competitor at heart,” the 28-year-old said. “After watching the 2022 championships, I was like I miss competing. … I found myself in the gym, and I was like all right, maybe I could do this again.”
Douglas’ first competition will be the Winter Cup in Louisville, Kentucky on February 24. It will be her first competition since the 2016 Rio Olympics.
“I didn’t want to end this sport how I did in 2016. I wanted to take a step back and work on my mental state,” she said. “I love gymnastics and love pushing myself. … I never wanted to walk away on a bad day.”
In 2016, Douglas was part of the “Final Five” who won gold in the team event. However, she failed to qualify for the all-around final and finished seventh in the uneven bars, her speciality.
While she is currently training on all four apparatuses, she has put “a little more” focus on the uneven bars.
“I would just love to go back out there and represent USA one more time and just to have that feeling of being a part of something, being a part of a team again would be amazing and a huge honor,” she said.
The competition will be fierce as Douglas will be up against former teammate Simone Biles, who is looking for a third appearance on Team USA, and the reigning Olympic all-around champion Sunisa Lee.
We can’t wait to see Gabby back in action!
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