40 Fun Facts About Gabby Douglas

Which nickname did Gabby Douglas, the first African American Olympic all-around champion, carry into the 2012 Games?

Flying Squirrel came from the U.S. national team coordinator, who said she had never seen a gymnast rise so quickly from good to fantastic.

After Gabby Douglas's 2012 Olympic wins, which cereal put her on special-edition boxes?

Corn Flakes maker Kellogg's announced the boxes on August 3, 2012, just one day after she won the all-around final in London.

Who convinced Gabby Douglas's mother to enroll her in gymnastics classes at age six?

Her older sister Arielle made the case, and two years later Gabby won a Level 4 title at the Virginia State Championships.

Gabby Douglas wore a gray-haired disguise to pose as an aspiring gym owner on which reality show?

Undercover Boss sent her out in disguise for a Celebrity Edition episode that first aired in May 2018, six years after her Olympic titles.

Gabby Douglas's birthday falls on which date, one that let her turn senior a season early?

New Year's Eve 1995 was her birthday, so she became a senior in 2011. Born one day later, she would have had to wait until 2012.

In 2016, a gymnast doll modeled on Gabby Douglas was released as part of which toy line?

Barbie got a Gabby Douglas edition in July 2016, weeks before she helped the United States win another Olympic team gold in Rio.

Gabby Douglas told which talk show host in August 2012 that bullying at her first gym nearly made her quit?

Oprah Winfrey heard her describe racist taunts from other girls at her Virginia gym, claims the gym's chief executive denied.

Gabby Douglas left her family in Virginia at 14 to train in which state, where she lived with a host family?

Iowa was home to her new coach's gym, and she lived there with Travis and Missy Parton and their four daughters.

Gabby Douglas won all-around silver at the 2015 World Championships behind which defending champion and teammate?

Simone Biles won the gold, and Douglas became the first reigning Olympic all-around champion since 1981 to come back and win a World Championships medal.

Gabby Douglas tumbled on stage at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards during which singer's Girl on Fire performance?

Alicia Keys performed the song's Inferno Remix with Nicki Minaj, whose verse mentions the gymnast by name.

What nickname did Gabby Douglas and her 2012 Olympic teammates choose for themselves on a bus ride to training?

Fierce Five beat out feisty after two teammates searched their phones for words starting with F that described the team.

Gabby Douglas appeared on one of five special Olympic covers published by which magazine in July 2012?

Time ran the covers on July 20, 2012, less than two weeks before she won the all-around title on August 2.

What did Gabby Douglas lead at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, weeks after her Olympic wins?

The Pledge of Allegiance was her role on stage in Charlotte, and that November she and her teammates met President Barack Obama at the White House.

On which apparatus did Gabby Douglas win the 2012 U.S. national title and perform in the 2016 Olympic team final?

The uneven bars were her showcase event: she also won gold on them at the 2010 Pan American Championships in her international debut.

Which 1984 champion was the first American woman to win the Olympic all-around title that Gabby Douglas won in 2012?

Mary Lou Retton was in the arena in London, along with the 2004 and 2008 champions, to watch Douglas equal her feat.

Gabby Douglas's 2012 squad won the first U.S. women's Olympic team gold since the Games in which city?

Atlanta in 1996 was where the Magnificent Seven won it first, and the 2012 team beat Russia by more than five points.

Which teammate of Gabby Douglas, the oldest on the 2012 U.S. Olympic gymnastics team at 18, was elected its captain?

Aly Raisman was chosen by her teammates and went on to win floor exercise gold in London, the first by an American woman.

Why did Gabby Douglas miss the 2016 Olympic all-around final despite placing third in qualifying?

Two teammates outscored her, and only two gymnasts per country may advance. The same rule kept a 2012 teammate, the reigning world champion, out of the final Douglas won.

Gabby Douglas won the first season of The Masked Dancer while disguised as which character?

Cotton Candy was unmasked as Douglas when she was declared the winner of the Fox series, a dancing spin-off of The Masked Singer.

Which coach, who had never competed at an Olympics, guided Gabby Douglas to her 2012 all-around title?

Liang Chow first met her at a clinic in Virginia, where he taught her a difficult new vault in a single afternoon.

The coach Gabby Douglas left home at 14 to join had already trained which 2008 Olympic balance beam champion?

Shawn Johnson had been his pupil since 1998, and in late 2012 Douglas and her teammates performed on Dancing with the Stars to support her.

Gabby Douglas's 2016 Olympic team called itself the Final Five partly to honor which retiring national team coordinator?

Márta Károlyi had picked Douglas for Rio even after she fell off the beam on both nights of the Olympic Trials.

Gabby Douglas's 2012 squad was the first entire Olympic gymnastics team on which magazine's Olympic preview cover?

Sports Illustrated put all five gymnasts on the cover of its Olympic Preview issue, which reached newsstands shortly before the London Games began.

Which honor did Gabby Douglas win in December 2012, joining gymnasts Olga Korbut and Nadia Comăneci as recipients?

AP Female Athlete of the Year had gone to only three gymnasts before her, and Douglas was also nominated for a Laureus breakthrough award.

Which Gabby Douglas memoir, released in December 2012, debuted at number four on a New York Times bestseller list?

Grace, Gold, and Glory carries the subtitle My Leap of Faith and was followed in 2013 by a second book, Raising the Bar.

Why was Gabby Douglas ineligible for the 2012 American Cup title despite posting the highest all-around score?

She competed as a guest at Madison Square Garden, so the best total of the meet could not earn her the gold medal.

Besides honoring a retiring coordinator, the Final Five name of Gabby Douglas's 2016 Olympic team marked which change?

Teams shrinking to four gymnasts was planned for the 2020 Games, and the squad kept its chosen name secret until the gold medal was secure.

In which Virginia city was Gabby Douglas born before growing up in nearby Virginia Beach?

Newport News was her birthplace, and her first club, Excalibur Gymnastics, was in Virginia Beach.

What forced Gabby Douglas to withdraw from her planned comeback meet, the 2024 Winter Cup, two days beforehand?

A positive COVID-19 test pushed her return back to the 2024 American Classic in Texas, her first competition since the 2016 Olympics.

Which Russian gymnast took silver behind Gabby Douglas in the 2012 Olympic all-around final after topping qualifying?

Viktoria Komova finished on 61.973 points to Douglas's 62.232, a gap of barely a quarter of a point.

Which vault with two and a half twists did Gabby Douglas learn from her future coach in a single afternoon?

Amanar vaults gave the U.S. a large early lead in the 2012 Olympic team final, where Douglas was one of three Americans to perform one.

Which Everybody Hates Chris actress starred as the gymnast in the 2014 Lifetime film The Gabby Douglas Story?

Imani Hakim played the lead, but Douglas performed all of the film's gymnastics stunts herself.

Which former Michigan basketball star objected when the media called Gabby Douglas's 2012 Olympic team the Fab Five?

Jalen Rose belonged to Michigan's own Fab Five, the five players the college recruited together in 1991.

Gabby Douglas had a small acting role in Gabby's Gold, a 2013 episode of which Disney XD comedy?

Kickin' It is set in a strip-mall karate dojo, and her episode aired in August 2013, a year after her Olympic wins.

Weeks after her 2012 Olympic wins, Gabby Douglas threw a ceremonial first pitch before which MLB team's home game?

New York Mets fans saw her on the mound at Citi Field on August 23, 2012, before a game against the Colorado Rockies.

Gabby Douglas fronted a Nintendo ad campaign announced in September 2012 for which video game?

New Super Mario Bros. 2 is a Nintendo 3DS platformer with a heavy emphasis on collecting coins, a neat fit for a double gold medalist.

Gabby Douglas was announced in August 2016 as a judge for which national pageant's 2017 competition?

Miss America put her on a final-night judging panel that also included singer Ciara and businessman Mark Cuban.

Gabby Douglas appeared with Laurie Hernandez and which 1996 Olympic champion in The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder?

Dominique Dawes voiced herself alongside them in A Perfect 10, a second-season episode released on Disney+ in February 2023.

In which city did Gabby Douglas win her first World Championships gold medal, with the U.S. team in 2011?

Tokyo hosted the 2011 Worlds, where she performed in the team final and the United States beat Russia by more than four points.

Which cable channel aired Douglas Family Gold, the 2016 reality series about Gabby Douglas and her relatives?

Oxygen premiered the show on May 25, 2016, weeks before she earned a place on her second Olympic team.