Gabby Douglas is officially back.
It remains to be seen whether the gymnastics star’s return to gymnastics will be successful at the Paris Olympics.
Douglas became the first black woman to win the all-around Olympic title when she won in London in 2012.
The 28-year-old looked rusty in places but looked promising elsewhere with an all-around score of 50.65. Douglas qualified for multiple events at next month’s U.S. Championships in Fort Worth, Texas. She’ll get another chance to qualify for the all-around nationals on May 18 when she competes at the U.S. Classic in Hartford, Conn.
Douglas last competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she helped the U.S. win its second consecutive gold medal in the team competition. She took a long break from the sport but never officially retired. Her desire to return is returning as she watches the 2022 U.S. Championships, where she has spent much of the past two years training in the Dallas area with an eye on making the five-women U.S. team favorites to win this summer in Paris.
However, her comeback has been shrouded in mystery. She was due to compete in the Winter Cup in February but withdrew a few days ago after testing positive for Covid-19. Her media exposure has been limited, and unlike 2020 Olympic gold medalists Sunitha Lee and Jade Carey, both of whom competed in the U.S. Classic, she chose not to participate in Friday’s podium practice.
Douglas took to the court about an hour before the game and showed flashes of what has made her a star in London. Her double twist on Yurchenko on the vault had plenty of range, and on the bars—her best event—her routine segments were sure to be competitive at the elite level.
The challenge is to find a way to fit all the pieces together consistently.
Douglas fell off the bar twice, and her floor exercise routine lacked the crispness and stamina to satisfy anyone seriously hoping to make the Olympic team.
Douglas had time, but not much. The American Classic will be held in three weeks. The U.S. Championships are five games into the season and the Olympic Trials will be held in Minneapolis in late June.
Carey won gold in the floor exercise in Tokyo, finishing all-around with a score of 55.000, while also setting top scores on vault and floor exercise. Lee, who has been dealing with kidney-related health issues for the past two years, put together a dazzling bar routine to easily win with a score of 15.200.
