Nickname
The Flying Squirrel (keepingscore.blogs.time.com, 16 Mar 2012)
Hobbies
Reading, knitting. (usagym.org, 2015)
Occupation
Athlete
Spoken languages
English
Club
Buckeye Gymnastics Club [Westerville, OH, USA]
Coach
Kittia Carpenter [personal], USA, from 2014; Martha Karolyi [national], ROU (kpopstarz.com, 27 Aug 2015; teamusa.org, 29 Jul 2015; espn.go.com, 04 Dec 2014)
International senior debut
2008 for United States, International Tournament in Houston, TX, United States (thisweeknews.com, 22 Jan 2016)
Injuries
An injured hamstring kept her from training during the spring and summer of 2011. (sports.yahoo.com, 26 Jun 2012)
Start sporting career
She began gymnastics at age six. (Nick News, 15 Apr 2012)
Reason for taking up the sport
Her mother initially did not want her to participate in gymnastics because her older sister had beenthe hurt doing the sport. But Gabrielle was flipping off the furniture in their home, so her mother allowed her to try it in a proper training environment. "My older sister, Arielle, talked my mother into enrolling me because she thought I would be a good gymnast." (Nick News, 15 Apr 2012; usa-gymnastics.org, 16 May 2012 )
Philosophy / Motto
"Never doubt. Only believe." (Twitter profile, 12 Oct 2015)
Additional information
Awards
She was named the 2012 Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year. (usagym.org, 2015)
General
CHANGE OF COACH
After taking a nine-month break from competitive gymnastics following the 2012 Olympic Games in London, she returned to training in May 2013 under coach Liang Chow in Des Moines, IA, United States. Two months later she decided to relocate to Los Angeles, CA, United States, before returning to train under Chow in April 2014. However, when business negotiations broke down with Chow in July 2014, Douglas decided to find a new a coach. After asking a number of coaches to take on the job, Douglas finally settled on Kittia Carpenter, based at the Buckeye Gymnastics club in Westerville, OH, United States. (espn.go.com, 04 Dec 2014; ap.org, 07 Aug 2014)
TV STAR
In March 2015 it was announced that US television company Oxygen TV were starting to film a show about her and her family. Named, 'Douglas Family Gold' the show was designed to focus on her family unit and her decision to attempt to compete at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. A film titled 'The Gabby Douglas Story' aired on Lifetime channel in February 2014. (olympictalk.nbcsports.com, 31 Mar 2015; newyorker.com, 05 Feb 2014)
AUTHOR
She has written two books: 'Grace, Gold, and Glory: My Leap of Faith' and 'Raising the Bar'. (parade.com, 03 May 2013)
Last update : 2016-09-23
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