Her painful backstory was a good part of the reason why I, like many other gymnastics fans, pulled hard for Gabby Douglas when she announced her return to elite gymnastics.
Had she made the team, Douglas would have been the oldest American woman to compete in gymnastics at the Olympics since 1952.
Ross, a teammate of Douglas’ in London, was the youngest member of the “Fierce Five” that won team gold at that Olympics.
And if she can’t make the national championships, she can’t make the US Olympic team.
Dominique Moceanu, the diminutive, dynamic athlete on the “Magnificent Seven” 1996 Olympic gymnastics team, paralleled Douglas’ journey in some ways.
Persons:
Onnie Willis Rogers, CNN —, Gabby Douglas, Onnie Willis Rogers Rogers, Douglas, Gabby, Alexandra Raisman, Madison Kocian, Lauren Hernandez, Simone Biles, David Ramos, Douglas ’, —, It’s, Kyla Ross, Ross, Bela Karolyi, Ronald Martinez, Karolyi, calculatingly, Martha, Larry Nassar, Nassar, Dominique Moceanu, Moceanu, ” Moceanu, Douglas soldiered, ”, Simone Biles —, won’t
Organizations:
UCLA, Northwestern University, CNN, London Olympics, Olympic, Getty, US Olympic, Bela, USA Gymnastics, Twitter, Facebook
Locations:
London, Rio de Janeiro, US, Fort Worth , Texas, Romanian, Texas, Rio ., Paris