Gabby Douglas Biography

Gymnast Gabrielle “Gabby” Douglas became the first African-American to win the Olympic gold medal as individual all-around champion when she was 16 years old, at the Summer Olympics in London in 2012. She also won a gold medal with the U.S. team, making her the first American to win both.

Douglas grew up in Virginia, the youngest of four kids raised by a single mom. Her gymnastic talent was recognized early and she began training at the age of 6. She was 8 years old when she became a Virginia state champion (2004), and in 2009 she decided to move to Iowa to train with coach Liang Chow. She won the gold on uneven bars in the 2010 Pan American Championships, and in 2011, at the age of 14, Douglas won a gold medal with the U.S. team at the World Championships.

Dubbed “The Flying Squirrel,” she gained celebrity status after her 2012 medals at the Olympics; she played herself in the 2014 TV biopic The Gabby Douglas Story, and in 2016 her family got its own reality TV series, Douglas Family Gold.  She was back on the U.S. Olympic team for the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janiero, winning another gold medal in the team competition.