Gabrielle "Gabby" Douglas
Courtney Evans
Life story:
Gabrielle Douglas, also known as Gabby, was born December 31, 1995 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Gabby was born to Timothy Douglas and Natalie Hawkins. She has an older sister Arielle who was a former gymnast. She started gymnastics at the age of 3. She also began formal gymnastics training at 6. She moved away from her hometown and family when she was 14 to pursue training with a world-renowned Olympic trainer, and was selected to compete with the U.S. Olympic women's gymnastics team at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She was the first African American to win gold in the individual all-around event.
Accomplishments:
Gabby won a state championship by the time she was 8. Gabby participated in the U.S. team that won the gold medal in the team finals at the 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Tokyo, Japan. She also won the 2012 Olympic Trials, in San Jose, California, and was selected to the national team that represented the United States at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England. She competed in the individual all-around event, and became the first African American to win gold in the prestigious event.