Sports
Defeating The Odds : Sensational Gabrielle Douglas Wins The Gold For All-Around Competition
The Golden Girl made history after winning the Gold in the women’s gymnastics all-around competition
The Golden Girl made history after winning the Gold in the women’s gymnastics all-around competition. Gabrielle Douglas is the first woman of color to do so.
But before the 16-year-old from Virginia Beach, VA became an Olympian, Douglas’ mother Natalie Hawkin’s said it wasn’t easy figuring out how to keep her daughter in the sport.
Hawkins, a single mother, told CNN: “After years of persuading me I finally gave in and took her to a trial class. She just never wanted to come out of the gym. She loved it. She would practice all the time. So I saw then the hard work.”
“I didn’t realize when I got into this sport how expensive it was. Just the commitment over the years, sometimes it felt crushing. I didn’t think I’d be able to keep her in the sport. But then I’d think about it and say: you’ve got to fight. If I had to sell. I sold almost all of my jewelry, if I had to pick up extra shifts at work. Whatever it takes.”
Hawkins did whatever it took, and sent her daughter to Iowa to train with one of the best coaches, Liang Chow. Now Ms. Gabrielle Douglas is not only a World Champion, but an Olympic hero and a two-time Gold medalist.
Congratulations Gabrielle Douglas!
Follow Unheard Voices on Twitter for more coverage.
Photo By Agência Brasil Fotografias, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gabby_Douglas_2016_Olympics_Rio.jpg
----------------------------------------------------------
Connect with Unheard Voices on X, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube
Download the app on Google Play or ITunes.
----------------------------------------------------------
Unheard Voices Magazine is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.
Discover more from Unheard Voices Magazine
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
-
News2 weeks ago
Son Discovers Mother Deceased After Devastating St. Louis Tornado : “Our House Is Gone and My Mom Is Gone”
-
News2 weeks ago
Officials declare suicide as cause of death for Georgia twins found on mountain
-
News3 days ago
George Floyd’s 11-year-old daughter says she’s being bullied in school
-
Crime & Justice2 weeks ago
9-year-old hero killed while trying to get younger siblings to safety amid gunfire
-
Social Justice3 days ago
Community rallies to preserve Knoxville African American cemetery and memorialize Black Veterans buried in unmarked graves
-
Black Excellence6 days ago
Teen goes viral for working at Burger King after graduation, GoFundMe raises more than $100,000
-
In Memoriam6 days ago
Brian McKnight’s son Niko dies at 32 after cancer battle
-
News2 weeks ago
Louisiana couple dies hours apart in separate car crashes, leaves behind 4-year-old son