Gabby Douglas Begins Training for 2016 Olympics: 'She's a Little Rusty,' Says Coach
Gabrielle Douglas has officially begun training for the 2016 Olympic games.
Douglas,18, made history at the London 2012 Olympics when she became the first African-American All-Around Olympic Gold Medalist, and the first female to win both all-around and team gold medals at the same Olympics. Since then, she has released two books and a movie while becoming a household name.
This week, she has returned to train with her coach Liang Chow, of Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute, in Des Moines, Iowa. The pair have not worked together since August, and Chow admitted that she was a bit rusty.
"She was a little rusty, of course. But the attitude, the working, has never left," Douglas' coach said in a USA Today report. "It's not an easy dream. Team USA is very strong."
The dream is to win big at the 2016 Olympic games which Douglas seems excited to attempt. First, she must train hard.
"Coming back was just very exciting," Douglas told the Des Moines Register. "I definitely missed my team sisters."
She recently spoke to BET.com about her new focus.
"Right now things are slowing down because I'm in training, but hopefully I will be able to compete this year," Douglas told BET. "Now my main goal and focus is to compete in the Olympics in 2016. I'll be 20 years old."
Throughout her career, Douglas has made sure to glorify God. The Christian athlete previously explained why this was so important to her.
"It was definitely important for me to praise God because he's given me this God-given talent to go out there and represent him and share my faith with everyone," Douglas previously told The Christian Post. "I mean I'm not going to hold it in because he's blessed me so much throughout my gymnastics career. He's woken me up every single morning and he's just been so great to me, so I'm going to go and share it with everyone because it's a part of me and it's just who I am."