Gabby Douglas Finally Makes a Dramatic Return to Gymnastics but Falls Short of Podium at US Classic 2024

On Saturday, Gabby Douglas started her gymnastics journey in a refreshed mood. After the 2016 Rio Olympics, the 2024 US Classic displayed her taking up elite gymnastics once again. However, Gabby’s floor exercise today didn’t do justice to the high expectations kept on her. Eventually, the floor exercise was her first in the schedule today and she ended the event with 11.450 points.

Participating from the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy, the former Olympic champion tried her best to manage her footsteps today and often showed tumbling in this effort. Those mishandled landings put a negative point of 0.400 on the overall score. But a few days ago, Gabby Douglas was thoroughly seen to try her new incorporation into the floor exercise with utmost zeal. So, her Saturday performance might have fallen short of fulfilling her fans’ expectations. 

Gabby Douglas’s vault schedule went with a fine tone. She did nothing wrong in attempting the Double Twisting Yurchenko. Unlike other schedules, the DTY needs a perfect sync in order to land the double-twisting layout with round-off condition perfectly. However, the 28-year-old gymnast found nothing hard to give the schedule a final shape today in the US Classic. That effort prized her with 14.000 points in the event.

But the heartbreak came into the bar routine as Douglas faced two falls in the event. Those massive drops put her score on 11.850, a lot lower compared to other star gymnasts like Jade Carey and Suni Lee. The Tokyo Olympic champion Suni Lee was also there in the US Classic, finding her return prospect after a heartbreak in the Winter Cup. However, Gabby Douglas remained on the lower rung after the third schedule compared with the aforementioned stars. 

The end did not come as expected for Gabby Douglas

Eventually, in the beam event, Gabby Douglas tried to attempt a massive jump to gather enough score to get a podium. But Jade Carey’s scintillating effort kept the final score above Gabby’s reach. Attempting to touch somewhere near 55.000, things couldn’t have been easy for her. Eventually, Gabby ended her race with a 50.650 score, earning 13.350 from the beam event. As the standings are looking pretty much settled, Gabby Douglas will have to be satisfied with the tenth-position finish. 

However, this may not put an end to Gabby Douglas’ brewing chance for the Paris Olympics. Soon, she will be looking for another window to come up heavier in the US Olympic trials. The 3x Olympic gold medalist already described her mindset, which ultimately helped her to announce her return after 8 long years. 

“I wanted to find the joy again for the sport that I absolutely love doing. I know I have a huge task ahead of me, and I am beyond grateful and excited to get back out on the floor,” Gabby Douglas claimed once, expressing her driving factor. So, fans might see her again, fighting another battle to earn her place in the Olympic berth.