16-year old Olympian Gabby Douglas from Virgina Beach made history today when she won the gold medal in the women’s gymnastics all-around competition. This was Douglas’ second Olympic gold medal – she won the team gold medal yesterday with the rest of the USA team.
According to the LA Times, Douglas performed with “ferocious power, high-flying aerial tricks on the uneven bars, a smartly cautious balance beam display and, finally, a joyfully exuberant tumbling romp on the floor exercise mat.”
Douglas not only impressed the world with her exceptional performance, but she also became the first African American to win the gold medal in women’s all-around gymnastics.
A very disappointed Victoria Komova of of Russia won the silver medal.
Douglas’ teammate, Alexandra Raisman, was tied with Russia’s Aliya Mustafina with a score of 59.566, but after a tiebreaking procedure was used, Mustafina won the bronze medal, knocking Raisman off of the podium. According to the LA Times, the “official tiebreak procedure is the total of the three best scores. Mustafina had 45.933 and Raisman 45.366.”
Raisman was a favorite and a medal contender throughout the competition, but when she performed a low-scoring balance beam routine that made her position more unsteady.
Douglas took a lead over Komova of 0.326 going into the floor exercise (final rotation). Although Douglas almost tumbled out of bounds during her routine, she tiptoed her way back into bounds.
