*Yesterday in London 16-year-old USA gymnast Gabrielle Douglas had a mind blowing day in competition and ended up winning the individual all-around event to match her performance anchoring the U.S. team’s first-place performance earlier this week.
Well, on her way to the event, Gabby told PEOPLE about the good feeling she had.
“I was on the bus and it was raining and I thought, ‘It’s going to be a great day,’ ” Douglas, 16, told PEOPLE on Thursday after winning the all-around gold medal. “My mom used to tell me when I was little, ‘When it rains, it’s God’s manifestation, a big day’s waiting to happen.’ ”
“I texted my mom, ‘It’s raining. You know what that means.’ ”
And a big day it was for the gymnast dubbed “The Flying Squirrel,” winning the most coveted prize in her sport. It comes just two days after she took home the team gold medal alongside Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney, Kyla Ross and People.com blogger Jordyn Wieber.
The significance of winning the all-around was not lost on the young gymnast. Asked which medal means the most to her, Douglas told reporters, “The all-around matters to me. People keep saying I’m the first black American to win the [all-around] gold medal so I [thought], yeah, I forgot about that. It was amazing. I feel so honored. … It’s a barrier-breaker, and I think that it just says something more about it.”
She was also pleasantly surprised to learn another bit of trivia about herself. Told by a reporter that she is the only American to have gold medals in both the team competition and the all-around, Douglas replied: “Oh, wow. You learn something new every day.”
Read/learn more at PEOPLE.
Once again a BIG CONGRATULATIONS GABBY DOUGLAS!!! I hope the media stops talking about her race ( we all can see she is black) just celebrate the fact that GAbby is an outstanding athlete that represented the USA well.
Very well said Baby, but you know the media and its portrayal of us. If anybody in her family has even so much as wrote a bad check, it will make the Headlines of every news outlet known to mankind. Media sucks in a major way!!! We have to hear about her surrogate mother, who of course is white…whatever…she deserved her win just like Michael Phelps…so what’s the issue? The media will make it one…I definitely getting that box of Cornflakes for a keepsake!
CONGRATULATIONS Gabby!!…….I have nothing but absolute praise for this young lady. I’m so proud of her.
*I hope Gabby does not address any of the criticism concerning her hair. Oh yeah we just had to go there.
@ platinum, I agree with you on our black folks amking fun of Gabby”s hair and how she looks and that she speaks well( or as we say talk like a white girl) Really??? some of our people can be so DAM ignorant and stupid at times.
Considering the fact the games AREN’T being held in Harlem, her “do” is just fine for her job thank you. . . . . .like I said, we can’t get out of our own way.
the 17-year-old’s win in the prestigious all-around event was significant in several ways: she beat the highly touted Russian favorite, defied those uncertain that she would be able to handle the pressure, and became the first ever person of color to win this event. Needless to say, she has gotten her share of attention online.
Blacks competing in the Olympics are one of the most significant ways we have to show the world at large what we are capable of doing. But yet you have these buffoons running around this mofo with their head up their ass saying that we should boycott the Olympics.
The quality of her competitors was noteworthy. Countries like Russia and China who are fanatically dedicated to producing the best gymnasts. Her triumph sent a powerful message to countries like China and Japan in particular, that are extremely prejudiced towards blacks, actually believing that all the black man is good for at the Olympics is running and jumping.
It’s really not a stretch in comparing her performance to Obama’s election as president as far as its ability at rehabilitating the image of the black man due the negative stereotypes that have been exported throughout our history.
Her Cornflakes box is going to FLY off the shelf! I’m going to make sure I get one. I’ll probably dump the cornflakes (don’t like them) and just keep the box..Lol