“Time Is Very Tight”: Gabby Douglas’ Return After 8 Years Leaves Gymnastics World Doubtful About Paris Olympics 2024

Bouncing back to impending glory after eight long years is no joke for any athlete. And yet, when Gabby Douglas waited for her competitive return at the US Classic 2024, fans hoped to see some of those electrifying moments that made her one of the most tantalizing names. But Douglas’ wobbly feet kept her away from the podium at the event last night, albeit a solid 14.000 in the vault event. That made fans shed doubtful looks at each other over the possibility of seeing her in Paris.

Her avid fans have closely monitored Douglas’ recent training sessions. Many gymnastics followers thrashed as “shaky” her new floor routine earlier this month, and the fact that the three-time Olympic gold medalist missed out on some significant events this year, didn’t help either. And fans are in splits on what to make of the possibility of seeing Gabby flying to the Paris Olympics.

Gabby Douglas leaves the world unimpressed

Her fans have ushered a recent post on Subreddit r/Gymnastics, a discussion thread about Gabby’s future at the French capital. “I want to know what you all think of Gabby’s comeback and potential for the Olympic team“, wrote the original post asking for a general consensus on the matter.

Gabby Douglas Comeback
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Drawing attention to the celebrity gymnast misstepping on the floor and uneven bars, the post expressed the belief that Gabby is definitely “strong enough to perform her skills“, but wanted to see what others thought about it, while also confessing, “there is something missing on her routines“. A horde of fans took to Reddit to lend their thoughts on the matter.

Fans chime in with their two cents

“I think if she had another year she’d have a very real chance…but time is very tight“, is what another user had to say, reminding everyone that missing out on the chance to get up to speed with her national peers at the National Training Camp or sitting out on the Winter Cup didn’t help Gabby’s cause.

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While another fan is happy to see the 2016 AT&T All-Around Champion performing again, they think Gabby just won’t make the cut with how the American Classic went for her. “The pieces are there but I don’t think she has a realistic shot at the Olympics“, commented the fan, hoping that she could prove their sentiments wrong.

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This gymnastics connoisseur is also of the opinion that while Gabby doesn’t need a crash course on the fundamentals of the sport, her routine construction doesn’t seem to be up to the mark when her competitors are taken into consideration who have a claim for a spot in the national team. “I’m rooting for Gabby but this will be a difficult road to watch, feels like wasted potential.“, is what they had to say.

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Mimicking the collective sentiment, another fan claimed that many fans of the Douglas Family Gold star are putting their eggs in the wrong basket. “I like Gabby, but everyone has been extremely delusional about her chances the entire time.“, read their comment without beating around the bush.

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GerbilFan believes that the member of the iconic “Fierce Five” may have started her journey to Paris a little too late for her to wriggle out a place for herself on the national team.

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With so many naysayers casting doubt over Gabby’s chances to make it to Paris, where do you stand about the possibilities? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!