Gabby Douglas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gabby Douglas
Douglas at the 2016 Olympic Games
Personal information
Full name	Gabrielle Christina Victoria Douglas
Country represented	United States
Born	(1995-12-31) December 31, 1995 (age 30) Newport News, Virginia, U.S.
Height	5 ft 2.5 in (159 cm)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Years on national team	2008–2012, 2014–2016
Gym	WOGA Buckeye Gymnastics Chow's Gymnastics
Former coach(es)	Liang Chow Kittia Carpenter Christian Gallardo Valeri Liukin
Medal record Women's artistic gymnastics Representing  United States Olympic Games Gold 2012 London Team Gold 2012 London All-around Gold 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team World Championships Gold 2011 Tokyo Team Gold 2015 Glasgow Team Silver 2015 Glasgow All-around Pacific Rim Championships Gold 2012 Seattle Team Gold 2012 Seattle Uneven bars Pan American Championships Gold 2010 Guadalajara Team Gold 2010 Guadalajara Uneven bars FIG World Cup Event 1st 2nd 3rd All-Around World Cup 1 0 0

Gabrielle Christina Victoria Douglas (born December 31, 1995) is a famous American artistic gymnast. She won the gold medal in the all-around competition at the 2012 Olympic Games. She also earned a silver medal in the all-around at the 2015 World Championships. Gabby was part of the gold-winning U.S. teams at both the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. These teams were famously called the "Fierce Five" and the "Final Five". She also helped the U.S. teams win gold at the 2011 and 2015 World Championships.

Gabby Douglas made history as the first African American woman to win an Olympic individual all-around title. She was also the first U.S. gymnast to win both team and individual all-around gold at the same Olympics. With six Olympic and World Championship medals, she is one of the most decorated U.S. female gymnasts ever.

Her amazing gymnastics journey inspired a 2014 TV movie, The Gabby Douglas Story. She also had her own reality TV show, Douglas Family Gold. Gabby has written two books: Grace, Gold, and Glory: My Leap of Faith and Raising the Bar. In 2021, she won the first season of The Masked Dancer.

Gabby's Early Life and Start in Gymnastics

Gabby Douglas was born on December 31, 1995, in Newport News, Virginia. She grew up in Virginia Beach. She has two older sisters, Arielle and Joyelle, and an older brother, Johnathan. Gabby started gymnastics at age six. Her sister Arielle encouraged their mom to enroll her in classes. Her first gym was Excalibur Gymnastics. When she was eight, Gabby won her first big gymnastics title. This was the Level 4 all-around at the 2004 Virginia State Championships.

At 14, Gabby moved to Des Moines, Iowa. She went there to train with coach Liang Chow. Her family stayed in Virginia for her siblings' school. So, Gabby lived with the Parton family. One of their daughters also trained at Chow's gym. Gabby found it hard to be away from her family and home.

Gabby was raised Christian. She said in an interview that her faith is very important to her. She also shared in her book that her family practiced some Jewish traditions when she was younger. This included going to a synagogue and celebrating Hanukkah.

Junior Gymnastics Career Highlights

In 2008, Gabby reached the "elite" level in gymnastics. This is the highest level in the U.S. She competed at the U.S. Classic and the U.S. Championships. She was not chosen for the junior national team that year.

In 2009, Gabby faced some challenges. She had a wrist injury and later hurt her knee. These injuries kept her from competing in some events. She still managed to finish fifth on the balance beam at the U.S. Championships.

2010: Joining the National Team

Gabby competed in the 2010 Nastia Liukin Cup, placing fourth. At the U.S. Classic, she won a bronze medal on the balance beam. Later, at the U.S. Championships, she earned a silver medal on the balance beam. This led to her being added to the junior national team for the first time!

She then made her international debut at the 2010 Pan American Championships. Gabby and her teammates won the team gold medal. She also won a gold medal in the uneven bars final.

In October 2010, Gabby moved to Iowa. She trained with coach Liang Chow. He had coached Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson. Gabby was very impressed when Chow taught her a difficult vault, the Amanar vault, in just one afternoon.

Gabby's Senior Gymnastics Career

2011: First Senior Competitions

Gabby became old enough to compete at the senior level in 2011. Her first senior competition was the City of Jesolo Trophy. She helped the U.S. team win a gold medal. She also won bronze medals on the balance beam and floor exercise. At the U.S. Classic, she earned a silver medal on the uneven bars.

Later in 2011, Gabby was chosen for the World Championships in Tokyo. She competed on the uneven bars in the team final. Her performance helped the U.S. team win the gold medal. She also placed fifth in the uneven bars final.

2012: Olympic Gold and Historic Wins

Douglas at the 2012 U.S. Classic

Gabby competed at the American Cup as a guest. She had the highest score but could not win the medal as a guest. She then helped the U.S. team win gold at the Pacific Rim Championships. She also won a gold medal on the uneven bars.

At the U.S. Championships, Gabby finished second in the all-around. She won the national title on the uneven bars. She also earned a bronze medal on the floor exercise.

Gabby won the all-around title at the Olympic Trials. This secured her a spot on the Olympic team. She joined Jordyn Wieber, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, and Kyla Ross.

2012 Summer Olympics: The Fierce Five

Douglas (right) during the all-around final at the 2012 Summer Olympics

At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Gabby and her teammates were called the "Fierce Five". They won the team gold medal. Gabby competed on all four events in the team final. This was the first time an American team won since the "Magnificent Seven" in 1996.

Gabby then won the gold medal in the individual all-around final. She made history as the first African American woman to win this event. She was also the first American gymnast to win both team and individual all-around gold at the same Olympics. She finished eighth in the uneven bars final and seventh in the balance beam final.

Douglas at Citi Field in 2012

2013–2014: Taking a Break and Returning to Training

After the 2012 Olympics, Gabby moved to Los Angeles to be with her family. She continued to train, aiming for the 2016 Olympics. In 2014, she returned to Iowa to train with coach Liang Chow again. Later that year, she moved to Columbus, Ohio, to train with Kittia Carpenter at Buckeye Gymnastics. Gabby was added back to the U.S. national team in November 2014.

2015: World Championships Success

In March 2015, Gabby returned to international competition. She competed at the City of Jesolo Trophy. She helped the American team win gold. She also placed fourth in the all-around. In July, she competed at the U.S. Classic. She won the silver medal in the all-around. She also earned silver medals on uneven bars and floor exercise, and a bronze on balance beam. At the U.S. Championships, she finished fifth in the all-around. She was named to the national team.

In October 2015, Gabby was chosen for the 2015 World Championships. She helped the U.S. team win their World title again. Gabby then won the silver medal in the all-around. She became the first reigning Olympic all-around champion to win a World Championships medal since 1981. She also finished fifth in the uneven bars final.

2016: Another Olympic Team Gold

Douglas at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Gabby started 2016 by winning the all-around title at the American Cup. This was her first international all-around win since the 2012 Olympics. She also won another all-around title at the City of Jesolo Trophy. In event finals, she won a silver medal on uneven bars and a bronze on floor exercise.

At the U.S. Championships, Gabby finished fourth in the all-around. She was selected for the U.S. national team. She then qualified for the Olympic Trials.

Gabby was chosen for the five-person Olympic team. She joined Simone Biles, Laurie Hernandez, Madison Kocian, and Aly Raisman. Gabby and Aly became the first American female gymnasts to compete in multiple Olympic Games since 2000.

2016 Summer Olympics: The Final Five

Douglas celebrating with the other Final Five members at the 2016 Olympic Games

At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Gabby helped the American team qualify for the final in first place. She also qualified for the uneven bars final. She finished third in the all-around qualification. However, due to a rule that only two gymnasts per country can compete in the all-around final, she was not eligible.

Gabby competed on the uneven bars in the team final. She helped the United States win a second consecutive gold medal. This was her third Olympic gold medal. Gabby and her teammates called themselves the "Final Five". This honored their coach, Márta Károlyi, who was retiring. Gabby finished seventh in the uneven bars event final.

2022–Present: A Gymnastics Comeback

In October 2022, news spread that Gabby had returned to training. She was training at the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy (WOGA). In February 2023, her coach Valeri Liukin confirmed this. In July 2023, Gabby herself confirmed on Instagram that she was training to compete at the 2024 Olympics.

Douglas competing on uneven bars at the 2024 Core Hydration Classic

Gabby was set to compete at the 2024 Winter Cup in February. However, she withdrew after testing positive for COVID-19. She later returned to WOGA.

Gabby's first competition since the 2016 Olympics was the 2024 American Classic. She finished second on the vault. She also competed on uneven bars and floor exercise. Her all-around score was 50.650. This was just under the score needed to qualify for the all-around at the U.S. Championships. She did qualify for the U.S. Championships on vault, uneven bars, and balance beam.

Gabby next competed at the U.S. Classic in Hartford, Connecticut. She had some mistakes on the uneven bars and withdrew from the rest of the competition. In May 2024, Gabby was injured during training. She withdrew from the U.S. Championships and could not compete for a spot on the 2024 Olympic team. She stated that she still aimed to compete for a spot on the 2028 Olympic team.

Awards and Honors for Gabby Douglas

Douglas and the other Fierce Five members meeting President Barack Obama after the 2012 Summer Olympics

In December 2012, the Associated Press named Gabby the Female Athlete of the Year. She was the fourth gymnast to receive this honor. Other gymnasts included Olga Korbut, Nadia Comăneci, and Mary Lou Retton.

Gabby was nominated for a Laureus World Sports Award for Breakthrough of the Year. In June 2013, she received two BET Awards for her achievements at the 2012 Summer Olympics. In 2017, she was nominated for an ESPY Award for Best Team. This was with the other members of the 2016 Olympic women's gymnastics team. In 2025, she was selected for the United States Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame.

Gabby Douglas in the Media

In July 2012, Gabby and her teammates made history. They were the first Olympic gymnastics team on the cover of Sports Illustrated's Olympic Preview issue. Gabby also appeared on a special Time magazine Olympic cover. The Kellogg Company featured Gabby on special-edition boxes of Corn Flakes. Later that month, Gabby threw out the first pitch at Citi Field.

Douglas alongside Michelle Obama on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2012

In August 2012, Gabby spoke about challenges she faced at one of her early gyms. She described unkind comments from some other girls. The CEO of Excalibur Gymnastics denied these claims.

In September 2012, Nintendo announced Gabby would be in an ad campaign for New Super Mario Bros. 2. Gabby led the Pledge of Allegiance at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

In December 2012, Gabby released her autobiography, Grace, Gold, and Glory: My Leap of Faith. The book became a bestseller for young adults. She performed a mini floor routine at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards. This was part of a live performance by Alicia Keys and Nicki Minaj.

Gabby had a small acting role on the Disney XD series Kickin It. The episode, "Gabby's Gold", aired on August 12, 2013. In 2013, she donated gymnastics equipment from the 2012 Olympics. It went to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The Gabby Douglas Story aired on Lifetime on February 1, 2014. Imani Hakim starred in the movie. Gabby performed all the gymnastics stunts herself. In 2015, a reality television show was announced for the Oxygen channel. It would follow Gabby and her family's life. The show, Douglas Family Gold, premiered on May 25, 2016.

On August 23, 2016, Gabby was announced as a judge for the 2017 Miss America pageant. In 2016, Mattel released a "Gymnast Barbie" doll modeled after Gabby.

In 2018, Gabby appeared on a "Celebrity Edition" episode of Undercover Boss. She was disguised as an aspiring gym owner. In 2020, Gabby competed on The Masked Singer spin-off The Masked Dancer. She was "Cotton Candy" and won the season. In 2022, she appeared as herself in the Disney+ animated series The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder. She judged a gymnastics competition with Dominique Dawes and Laurie Hernandez.

Gabby Douglas's Competitive History

Competitive history of Gabby Douglas at the junior level

Year	Event	Team	AA	VT	UB	BB	FX
2008
	U.S. Classic		10	16	8	13	13
	U.S. Championships		16	21	20	12	17
2009
	U.S. Championships					5
2010
	Nastia Liukin Cup		4
	U.S. Classic		9	6	20		20
	U.S. Championships		4	4	11		8
	Pan American Championships		5

Competitive history of Gabby Douglas at the senior level

Year	Event	Team	AA	VT	UB	BB	FX
2011
	City of Jesolo Trophy		4
	U.S. Classic
	U.S. Championships		7			19	11
	World Championships				5
2012
	Pacific Rim Championships
	U.S. Classic					7
	U.S. Championships					7
	U.S. Olympic Trials					6
	Olympic Games				8	7
2015
	City of Jesolo Trophy		4
	U.S. Classic
	U.S. Championships		5		4	9	6
	World Championships				5
2016
	American Cup
	City of Jesolo Trophy
	U.S. Classic					6
	U.S. Championships		4		6	6	5
	U.S. Olympic Trials		7	6		11	6
	Olympic Games				7
2024	American Classic		11		20	5	20
	U.S. Classic				43

Gabby's Floor Music

Books by Gabby Douglas

• Douglas, Gabrielle; Burford, Michelle (2012). Grace, Gold, and Glory: My Leap of Faith. Zondervan. pp. 224pp. ISBN 978-0310740681.
• Douglas, Gabrielle (2013). Zondervan. 144 pp. ISBN: 978-0-310-74070-4

See also

In Spanish: Gabrielle Douglas para niños

• List of Olympic female gymnasts for the United States