Since gymnastics are generally thought to be a sport that's best for younger athletes — considering the bodily wear and tear that gymnasts accrue early in their career — we rarely see gymnasts competing at the highest level for longer than one Olympic cycle.
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This is proven by the median age for the 97 female gymnasts competing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games being 21 years old. Four years prior, the median age for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro was 19 years, seven months.
Yet, three-time Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas, who is now 28 years old, is setting preconceived notions about her age aside and eyeing an Olympic return.
An announcement of Douglas' return was made on X by USA Gymnastics, who wrote, '@gabrielledoug has announced on @NBCNews that she will make her return to elite competition on February 24 at this year's #WinterCup in Louisville!'
Welcome back, Gabby!@gabrielledoug has announced on @NBCNews that she will make her return to elite competition on February 24 at this year’s #WinterCup in Louisville!
Don’t wait, get your tickets now! ➡️ https://t.co/cMbl7T88zL pic.twitter.com/GZkMOntF5H
— USA Gymnastics (@USAGym) February 6, 2024
Douglas — who was the first Black gymnast to win the Olympic all-around gold medal during the 2012 London Olympics — discussed her return in a recent interview, saying, "I'm still a competitor at heart. After watching the 2022 championships, I was like I miss competing. ... I found myself in the gym, and I was like, all right, maybe I could do this again.
"I didn't want to end this sport how I did in 2016," Douglas continued. "I wanted to take a step back and work on my mental state," she said. "I love gymnastics and love pushing myself. ... I never wanted to walk away on a bad day."
Douglas is alluding the fact that, despite winning her third gold medal at the 2016 games in the team event, she narrowly missed advancing to the all-around final, and finished seventh in the uneven bars event final.
Douglas — who will be the oldest gymnast in the upcoming Winter Cup competition — noted that she's training on all four apparatuses (Vault, Uneven Bars, Balance Beam, and Floor Exercise), but is paying a little more attention to the uneven bars, which is her signature event.
We'll get a better sense of the Olympic icon's chances of making the Paris 2024 team after seeing her perform at the Winter Cup later this month — but Douglas certainly has an entire nation eager to support her successful return.
