In a highly debated comeback, Gabby Douglas has proven that she is “for real” about the Road To Rio. She currently trains at Buckeye under coaches Kittia Carpenter, Christian Gallardo, and Fernando Villa, and it looks to have been a successful transition. Douglas competed in her first post-Olympics competition at the City Of Jesolo Trophy this March, taking fourth in the all-around with a 58.900 and officially launching her comeback. (See inside her new journey at Buckeye in our latest Beyond The Routine).

 

This past weekend was Douglas’ first time ever competing in the all-around at Classics. She came out bold and confident, fully aware of the strong competition she was up against, and like an experienced performer, she delivered. She was solid from the start, hitting routine after routine and ended up with a 60.500 all-around score to earn the silver medal behind Simone Biles.

 

Douglas started the meet on bars with her typical high-flying releases, such as her signature piked Tkatchev to Pak combination. She scored a 15.40, which gave her second place on the event. On beam, Douglas was solid and performed her skills with ease, including her difficult standing back tuck full. She earned a 14.90—good for third place on the event. 

 

The highlight was Douglas’ new floor routine, which she brought the crowd into with her upbeat music and focus on eye contact. While she said in a post-meet interview that the music was “a little low” and wants to “crank it up next time,” Douglas showed powerful tumbling and reminded us of her spunky attitude with expressive dance. 


 

Douglas finished with a strong double twisting Yurchenko on vault, not quite at the difficulty level of her Amanar from London, but still a great showing. In the zone, but not nervous, she wanted to go out and enjoy the competition, as it’s been three years since she’s competed in the States. The reigning Olympic Champion was on a mission to show the world that “my comeback was not fake”—Douglas is truly devoted to being a contender for Rio and has put in the work to prove it. “I wanted to be here and show everyone that ‘Hey, I’m doin’ it.’”


 

Hitting four for four and taking the silver medal at the Secret Classic should give Douglas confidence going into P&G Championships and more importantly, the ever-so-important 2016 year.

 

Related:
Gabby Douglas - Beyond The Routine