In 2012, 16-year-old Gabby Douglas wowed gymnastics fans with a sweep at the London Olympics, becoming the first-ever woman of color to win the gold medal in both the team and all-around events in the same Olympic Games. Although Rio 2016 earned the young prodigy another top team accolade, the world has barely heard her name since.
After being an integral part of the iconic “Final Five” U.S. gymnastics team at the 2016 Olympics, alongside Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, Madison Kocian, and Laurie Hernandez, Thomas stopped competing at a professional level, taking a step back from gymnastics for nearly eight years. In 2024, she announced she would be coming back to the sport that had brought her so much success in the past, generating massive buzz around the possibility that the historic 2012 champion could be making a grand return to the Olympic stage come July. Then an ankle injury days before the U.S. Championships put those plans on hold.
Why did Gabby Douglas stop competing?
The decision to go on a hiatus following the 2016 Olympics was made for the sake of Douglas’ mental health. The decorated American gymnast opened up about her time away in early 2024 after announcing her return, telling NBC she had needed to work on herself and her mental state.
That wasn’t the first time the 28-year-old had broached the topic of emotional wellbeing. In 2022, a since archived Instagram post, accessed via Women’s Health, revealed she had “carried a heavy weight on [her] back for quite some time” that had weighed her down.
To this day, people still reference the bullying Douglas was subjected to during the 2016 Rio Olympics as how not to discuss athletes during events of that magnitude. The gymnast was infamously scrutinized over her every move. People had seemingly fallen out of love with the once-revered athlete due to her keeping a serious, all-business countenance while watching her team-mates perform from the stands, and failing to put her hand over her heart while the U.S. national anthem played as the “Final Five” received their team event gold medals. She was accused of being jealous, and nicknamed “Crabby Gabby,” which then opened up the floor to all kinds of harassment, including negative comments about Douglas’ hair.
After she was done competing, Douglas talked about how “hurtful” the criticism had been, and apologized for appearing to be unsupportive of her squad mates.
When they talk about my hair or me not putting my hand up on my heart or me being very salty in the stands, they’re really criticizing me, and it doesn’t really feel good. It was a little bit hurtful. Everything I’ve gone through has been a lot this time around and I apologize if [I seemed] really mad in the stands. I wasn’t. I was supporting Aly [Raisman]. And I always will support them and respect them in everything they do. I never want anyone to take it as I was jealous or I wanted attention. Never. I support them, and I’m sorry that I wasn’t showing it.”
Is a Los Angeles 2028 return in the cards for Gabby Douglas?
Gabby Douglas finally announced her return to competition in February of 2024, inspired by the 2022 championships. She told NBC she had missed competing and, once back in the gym, was officially convinced she could have another go at it. Mostly, though, she didn’t want her career to end on the sour note that defined her Rio presence.
She made her comeback in April, at the American Classic in Katy, Texas, where she qualified to compete at the U.S. championships, which would have given her a chance to move on to the Olympic trials in June. Unfortunately, she was injured during training following a poor performance at the U.S. Classic in Hartford, Connecticut, effectively concluding her bid to return to the Olympic stage.
Gabby fans who were over the moon about her decision to return can keep some of that flame alive, however, as the gymnast has confirmed she plans to train for the L.A. 2028 Olympics, eager to represent her country on home turf, and undeterred by the prospect of being 32 by that point. This summer, at 27, Simone Biles became the oldest female gymnast to represent the U.S. in the Olympics since the ’50s. Marie Margaret Hoesly holds the record for the oldest U.S. Olympian in women’s gymnastics, competing at the Helsinki 1952 Games at 35 years old.