2012 London Summer Olympics

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Gabby Douglas outperformed two Russian rivals to win gold in the women's gymnastics individual all-around event of the London Olympics.

The 16-year-old Douglas garnered 15.966 on vaults, impressive 15.733 on uneven bars, 15.500 on balance beam and 15.033 on floor exercise for a total of 62.232 points to beat Viktoria Komova and Aliya Mustafina, who scored 61.973 and 59.566 good for silver and bronze medals, respectively.

Douglas became the first African-American to win the event and the fourth USA Olympic all-around champion in history (Mary Lou Retton, Carly Patterson, Nastia Liukin). She is also the third consecutive American to win the event behind Patterson (2004) and Liukin (2008).

Douglas is the second American woman gymnast to win multiple gold medals at an Olympics since Shannon Miller, who ruled the balance beam and team event in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Douglas is also set to compete in the finals of the uneven bars on Aug. 6 and balance beam on Aug. 7.

"I definitely had this amazing feeling," said Douglas, who also won gold in the team event together with McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, Kyla Ross and Jordyn Wieber.

"I just told myself, 'Believe. Don't fear, just believe.' I didn't really think about making mistakes. I just wanted to represent everyone, not just myself -- Team USA, coaches, family. I wanted to show my best routines and just enjoy the moment," Douglas added.

"She is a very graceful gymnast and also she has the strength and determination," said Douglas' head coach, Liang Chow. "I am totally beside myself. I think it was a wonderful night and for me as a coach, that was a wonderful dream come true—to have an Olympic Champion."

It was a sweet victory for Douglas, who had to leave her family in Virginia two years ago to join Chow in training in West Des Moines, Iowa.

Raisman, the other America in the event, finished in a tie for third with Mustafina with a 59.566, but due to tie-breaking procedures, ended up fourth in the all-around.

FIG rules dictate that in case of a tied score, each competitor's three highest scores count, with Mustafina edging the 2012 U.S. balance beam and floor exercise champion.

"I'm really happy for Gabby," said Raisman. "She's been working really hard so I'm really excited for her, but it's definitely really frustrating because we (Mustafina) tied for third place. I was so close. But being fourth in the world is definitely something to be proud of"

 

 

Gabby Douglas Captures All-Around Event Gymnastics Gold