![]() ![]() ![]() Early Life American gymnast Gabrielle Christina Victoria Douglas, better known as Gabby Douglas, was born on December 31, 1995, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, to Timothy Douglas and Natalie Hawkins. Her first experience with gymnastics came at the age of 3. Calendar, athlete biographies, photographs and news from individual sports, links to member federations, and downloads available. Olympic, Olympiad, the Olympic rings, Faster Higher Stronger, Citius Altius Fortius and related marks and mascots are owned by the International Olympics Committee, the Rio Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, or their related. Gabby Douglas finished first and secured a spot on the US Gymnastics Olympic Team. Feature on the off day of the U.S. What’s your big takeaway? Women's Gymnastics Team's Greatness Is Revolutionary. It's understandable if you have a difficult time trying to find the words to describe the performance Simone Biles put on during the 2. World Championship. Words escape the best of us. Watching the mix of power, near flawless handling of difficult dismounts, and the sheer joy that infuses her performance it's easy to see why she's the most decorated American gymnasts in World Championship history and why she'll be representing the United States at this year's Olympics. She's reached heights and pulled off tricky moves like her signature . But Biles' rise to greatness isn't just remarkable for her skills and the amount of medals she has gained in just a few short years – but for her identity as well given how short- lived the history of women of color in gymnastics is. Alongside Laurie Hernandez, of Puerto Rican descent, and fellow African- American Gabby Douglas, Biles represents the most diverse U. S. A few days before the team was announced, Philando Castile was pulled over for a routine traffic stop and fatally shot by police. The video of Castile bleeding to death is recorded and put on Facebook by his girlfriend who was in the car with him. Boding well Bode Miller appeared at on-snow training camps with the U.S. Ski Team the last two months, but his return to competition is still to be determined. This year USA has one of the strongest women’s gymnastics team ever. After they show some of the best gymnastics in the world at the Olympic Trials we present the top five girls that make the TEAM USA. On the top spot is the extremely talented and the favorite. Gymnastics magazine featuring polls, articles, event coverage, interviews, photo galleries and news. Your browser does not currently recognize any of the video formats available. Click here to visit our frequently asked questions about HTML5 video. ![]() In the same month Melissa Ventura – a mother of three with a history of mental illness – was shot and killed by two sheriff deputies in Arizona responding to a domestic disturbance. These events and the ones like them that preceded them may seem to have little in common to one another, but they exist on a continuum that demonstrates the value American culture puts on black and brown bodies. These girls are symbols not only of their own dreams but those of their coaches, families, and as Olympians, their country. The image of these women of color being the best in their field make the racism of this country and the sport of gymnastics even more starkly apparent. Every generation has its revolutionary athletes who make their name at the Olympics, ones who truly redefine a sport with their skills and sheer presence while bringing to the surface the complex politics of America itself; from Muhammad Ali in 1. Florence Griffith Joyner blazing a trail at the 1. Olympics. Laurie Hernandez is the first U. S. It was only in 1. Dominique Dawes became the first black woman to win an individual medal in artistic gymnastics. Four years earlier Dawes and teammate Betty Okino became the first black women to win Olympic gymnastics medals. Even today, while watching gymnastics, you'll often hear how . But in the mid- 1. Romanian Nadia Com. More aptly, in her book Little Girls in Pretty Boxes sportswriter Joan Ryan attributes the changing expectations and aesthetics of the sport to Romanian . Black athletes, no matter the sport, are often remarked upon as not being . Serena Williams is the most obvious example of this dynamic. But Olympic champion Florence Griffith Joyner, considered the fastest women of her time, also dealt with intense scrutiny during the late 1. The nexus of desires within gymnastics and their racialized underpinnings are brought to light in the face of Douglas' and Biles' success. The history of black women in gymnastics may be frustratingly recent, but the racial dynamics of what they represent to the sport are deeply ingrained in how America treats the skills of people of color as transcendent while positing that these talents are only due to their race. There is a profound disconnect in witnessing black gymnasts like Biles and Douglas praised for their talents on a global stage while the very country they're representing doesn't recognize the humanity of the men and women who look like them. Doug Pensinger—Getty Images Coach Bela Karolyi (L) and wife Martha Karolyi show their delight with the performance of their protege Kerri Strug in the US Gymnastics Olympics Trials at the Fleet Center in Boston on June 30, 1996 Martha and Bela Karolyi trained. ![]() It is one of the starkest representations of how America has always treated black and brown bodies. Black bodies are especially exoticized, commodified and denigrated. To be a black woman is to learn all too young that the farther away from whiteness – an intrinsic ideal of gymnastics – the less desirable, the less feminine you'll be considered. This dynamic is especially apparent in the career of Serena Williams who has, in the past, been insultingly described as . Gymnastics Women's Team final on Day 4 of the London 2. Cameron Spencer/Getty. To be a black woman in America is to understand that when Douglas racked up her many achievements in 2. Never mind that she's an athlete not a model. Never mind that her hair looks just fine and works in the ways it needs to. Of course, for black women hair is never just hair – it's weighted by politics and hierarchies outside of our control. To be a black woman in America is to be told subtly, regularly, even loudly that being great is never good enough. To be a black woman in America is to be told you must be quiet in the face of racism lest you be damned for your anger no matter how just. But even when black excellence is acknowledged, it's rarely respected. Being excellent did not protect former Olympian John Carlos from the backlash of raising his fist as a symbol of black activism during the 1. Olympics. Being excellent, nay the best in her field, hasn't protected Serena Williams from the confluence of sexism and racism that has colored her career or how she trails behind Maria Sharapova in spokesperson deals despite being the better player. Being excellent hasn't and won't protect Biles, Douglas, or Hernandez from the confluence of racial critiques and expectations they deal with. The criticism of Douglas extends beyond her hair to her performance. There has been a larger conversation in regards to what direction gymnastics is going as a sport. A false dichotomy has formed between two forms – . But they have become a veiled way to discuss what kind of players deserve praise. For Deadspin, Dvora Meyers wrote, . Lithe and flexible gymnasts are routinely called . Short, muscular gymnasts such as former Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson or Biles are not considered . When Carlotta Ferlitto placed 1. Biles' First during the 2. Word Championships, the Italian gymnast had the bright idea to say on video that she told her teammate . And if the changes of the sport were really benefitting black players (as if they all have the same style and skills) wouldn't we be seeing more of them on the international stage? The spokesperson for the Italian Gymnastics Federation David Ciaralli defended Ferlitto positing, . How else can you explain the underpinnings of Ciaralli and Ferlitto's statements? What Ferlitto says suggests that the reason for Biles' success isn't her training, determination or talent, but her blackness as if anyone mediocre could get to that position as an athlete let alone be considered the best of her generation. Ciaralli also conflates Biles and Douglas. But if you've watched their routines his comments become even more ridiculous as they conflate the technique of two very different gymnasts on race alone. Take a look at their floor routines during this year's Olympic Gymnastics trials. While Douglas prizes incorporating a sort of fun, flirty dance style with a grace that is more traditional, Biles prefers tricks and, yes, power. Meyers puts it well writing, . She could pull off difficult moves on floor and vault, but was not considered unusually powerful. He strongest apparatus was the uneven bars, an event that demands greater technique and finesse. Biles, on the other hand, is absolutely a power gymnast. In an interview with The Guardianshe said, . Douglas, in a 2. 01. Oprah, even went as far to openly discuss the racism she was targeted with by her peers when training at a Virginia gym. I definitely felt isolated. Why am I deserving this? Is it because I’m black? It means fans, coaches and judges have to face the racism that has underscored gymnastics. Their continued success means America must face what it means to enjoy the skills of black performers and athletes who in their own home country deal with bigotry on a daily basis. While none of the gymnasts have directly commented on police brutality they are aware of what it means for them specifically and the communities they come from to be on such a global stage for their talent and determination. No matter what race you are, no matter what nationality you are, you always should pursue your dream. She's aware of the optics of being the first black girl to reach her heights but says, . I don’t bring race into it.
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