Olympic Champion Gabby Douglas (An All Around Finals Wrap-Up)

Olympic Champion Gabby Douglas. I can't believe that she really did it! For some reason, I'm having a hard time coming to terms with her win. Don't get me wrong, of course I am extremely excited for her. Something just seems off. I'll admit, I was rooting for Aly to pull a huge upset. And, if you had forced me to choose two for the AA I would have chosen Aly and Jordyn. I think that it was weird for me to watch an Olympic AA without Jordyn competing. I had certainly assumed she would make the finals, and I thought it would be a Jordyn/Gabby/Vika fight for the gold. It's weird that I didn't get to see her challenge, but nevertheless I am thrilled for Gabby and I am so amazed by her performance.

I'm really impressed with Gabby's vault. I was surprised when she came out at nationals with such a strong Amanar. Next was bars, which were beautiful, as always. She doesn't put as much in as Mustafina or Vika, but she moves so gracefully and I love it. Next was beam, which almost gave me a heart attack. Even though I know better, I've always doubted Gabby's beam since 2010 Nationals. I know she's past that, and I know she's not a "headcase", but I still get nervous. I was thrilled when she pulled through that routine almost flawlessly. Gabby finished on floor, which looked beautiful. It was so nice to see her so happy with her performance.

What I love about Gabby is that she has improved so much in such a short time. I have so much respect for Chow and all that he's done to get her where she is. Gabby continues to amaze me by coming out and hitting day after day. She's hit 12-for-12 in competition in the Olympics so far (She had a huge step out on floor in TQ, but still placed 3rd in the world, so I'm counting it as a hit) and I certainly didn't think she had the stamina or focus to do that. I love that she continues to prove me wrong and get stronger and stronger, even as I think she won't be able to handle it. She finished with a HUGE score of 62.232. Is that the highest of this quad? It's certainly an accomplishment to get that huge of a score on the Olympic stage.

The other news with this AA finals was the tiebreak. Aly and Mustafina tied for third, with 59.566 points each. The official tiebreak takes each girl's top three scores and whoever has the highest total of those three wins. Unfortunately, Aly came just short of Mustafina. I am SO upset that it had to end this way for Aly. She puts in hit routine after hit routine in every team competition, and never seems to get the recognition that I feel she deserves individually. The fact that Aly can have such a good AA score with such a weak bar routine is so impressive, and I don't think that we give her enough credit for that. It's heartbreaking to see her off the podium even though she had the same score as the bronze medalist. In all the interviews I've seen, she's been so incredibly classy and gracious towards Mustfina and Gabby, and I really appreciate that.

Overall, I really enjoyed these AA Finals. We certainly had an exciting finish, and I am thrilled that Gabby came out on top. She really does deserve it.


Photo Credit-Getty Images, Gregory Bull