Barrier-breaking Olympic gymnastics Gabrielle “Gabby” Douglas announced that she is returning to the sport that she “loves.”
Sports fans remember that Douglas made history as the first African American to win a gold medal in the individual all-around gymnastics competition. She also grabbed another gold as a member of the “Furious Five” team during the 2012 Olympic games in London.
Now she’s preparing her mind and body to try to qualify for the Olympics that takes place in the summer of 2024.
“Hey guys long time no post,” Douglas explains to her 1.5 million Instagram followers. “As you all know i stepped back from the socials and in that time i did a lot of journaling, reflecting, soul searching and found myself back where it all began.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cuo-xwfLpV2/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading
She continued, “It’s so easy to suppress and run away from facing darkness and fears for many years, i’ve had an ache in my heart but i didn’t want to keep carrying anger, pain, sadness, or regret and through my tears and hurt, i’ve found peace.”
Back in 2012, Douglas said that she wanted to retire after the 2016 games in Rio de Janiero where she helped the US Olympic gymnastics national team take home the all-around gold medal.
Now Douglas has her sights set for a comeback at the 2024 Olympic games in Paris, despite the fact that Douglas has not been named on the participant’s list for the US Classic set for August 2023, CNN reports.
