At the 2012 Summer Olympics, artistic gymnast Gabby Douglas became the first African American and woman of color to win the all-around individual gold medal.
Douglas won multiple other regional championships after taking first place in the Level 4 all-around competition at the Virginia Gymnastics Championships in 2004. She joined Liang Chow’s gym in West Des Moines in 2010 after meeting him at an Excalibur camp. At multiple national and international events that year, including the Nastia Liukin Supergirl Cup, the CoverGirl Classic meet in Chicago, the U.S. Junior National Championships, and sharing team gold at the Pan American Championships in Mexico, she competed and assisted her team in winning medals.
Who trained Gabby Douglas?
Douglas, a native of Virginia Beach, began gymnastics at the age of six in 2002. In 2010, she uprooted her family to train in West Des Moines, Iowa, with Liang Chow, who had helped Shawn Johnson win four medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
How many hours does Gabby Douglas train?
According to gymnast Gabby Douglas, she practices from 8 a.m. until noon, breaks for lunch, and then practices again until supper.