Here are five things you probably didn't know about Olympic hopeful Gabrielle Douglas:
1. Her father is in the Air National Guard, currently serving on his third tour of duty in Iraq. Although her mother will be in attendance at next Saturday's CoverGirl Classic, her father won't even be able to watch the live feed on Universal Sports; Douglas will e-mail him about how she does.
2. Don't expect her to compete all-around in Chicago. Douglas, coach Liang Chow told The Des Moines Register this week, is planning to do "a couple of events" at CoverGirl.
3. Her coaches seem to be thinking about CoverGirl as a test of her consistency. Douglas's name is certainly on the shortlist of people with a real chance at making the five-member Olympic team, but Chow said, tellingly, that "her challenge is consistency."
4. She might have an Amanar vault. It's been rumored that Douglas verified an Amanar vault at a recent National team training camp. That vault, if she can be consistent with it (there's the word conisistency again) could make the difference as to whether she's on the team or not. Unfortunately, few gymnasts are consistent with this vault -- and as none other than Aliya Mustafina has demonstrated, it can be a knee-breaker.
5. She has impeccable timing. Douglas was born on December 31, 1995, making her eligible for this year's World team by one day. Had she been born on January 1, 1996, she would be a first-year senior the year of the Olympics. As things are, being age-eligible for Worlds this year can only help her chances of making the Olympic team.
Follow The Gymnastics Examiner on Facebook or Twitter, or click the "Subscribe" button above to receive the latest gymnastics news and results via e-mail.
Comments