She was born Gabrielle Christina Victoria Douglas, aka Gabby
Douglas or “Flying Squirrel,” on December 31, 1995, in Virginia
Beach, Virginia, to Timothy Douglas and Natalie Hawkins.
Four months later Gabby Douglas would become the first
gymnast of African descent to win Olympic gold in individual
all-around gymnastics.
Gabby is a family girl through and through and relishes the time
spent at home in Virginia Beach, Va., with the most important
people in her life: mom Natalie Hawkins, 42, brother John, 18,
and sisters Arielle and Joyelle, 19.
“I’m so thankful for them,” says Douglas. “I feel so blessed.”
So how did this little girl from Virginia Beach, Virginia become
the most accomplished and admired gymnast in the world
today? It all started with the realization that, in order to get to
the next level, she would learn the sometimes tough lesson that
you should Never Be Afraid to Reinvent Yourself.
Gabby’s introduction to gymnastics came at the age of 3,
when she perfected a straight cartwheel using a technique
that she learned from her older sister, Arielle, a former gymnast
and mentor of young Gabby. By age 4, Douglas had taught
herself how to do a one-handed cartwheel.
Thanks to Big sister Arielle’s power of persuasion, Douglas’s
mother allowed her to begin taking formal gymnastics classes
at the age of 6. Just two years later, in 2004, she was named a
Virginia State Gymnastics Champion.
After racking up a slew of medals, ribbons trophies and awards,
young Gabby would soon face that moment when she would
need to reinvent herself and her entire lifestyle in order to
become the champion she was destined to be. As it turns out,
life was about hand Gabby a series of challenges, the young
gymnast could not have possibly been prepared for.
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