2012
Gabrielle "Gabby" Christina Victoria Douglas (1995-)
Gabrielle "Gabby" Christina Victoria Douglas (1995-), sixteen-year-old gymnastic phenomenon and a member of the U.S. Women's Gymnastics team at the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London, became the first African American to win a gold medal in the women's all-around final competition. She is also the third straight American to win gymnasics' biggest prize at the Olympics. Gabby came away with two gold medals as she and her "Fierce Five" teammates won team gold two nights earlier. The "Flying Squirrel," as she is also nicknamed, was allowed to leave her mother, two sisters, and brother in Virginia Beach, Virginia, to live with a host family and train with her new coach, Liang Chow, in Des Moines, Iowa. After winning the competition, she said "I hope that I inspire a people. I want to inspire people. My mother said you can inspire a nation." Gabby is the youngest daughter of divorced parents Natalie and Timothy Hawkins.
Sources: "All-around Champ," Tennessean, 3 August 2012; "USA's Gabby Douglas Takes Women's Gold in All-around," www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/london/gymnastics/
story/2012-08-02-gabby-douglas.
From Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Events
by Jessie Carney Smith, © 2013 Visible Ink Press®. A celebration of achievement, accomplishments and pride.
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