Gabby Douglas pulls out of U.S. championships, ending bid to make 2024 Olympic team
Douglas will now turn her focus to making the U.S. team for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
Gabby Douglas has pulled out of the USA Gymnastics Championships this weekend in Fort Worth, Texas, with an ankle injury.
Douglas' withdrawal ends her attempt to make the 2024 Paris Olympic team after an eight-year hiatus.
"I love this sport and I love pushing my limits," Douglas told ESPN's Alyssa Roenigk. "I hope I can inspire both my peers and the next generation of gymnasts that age is just a number, and you can accomplish anything you work hard for."
Three of the four events — vault, uneven bars and balance beam — were on Douglas' schedule for the Championships after she failed to qualify for the all-around.
Making the team would have made Douglas, 28, the oldest American woman to take part in the Olympic gymnastic competition since 1952, as well as the first American woman since Dominique Dawes to make three Olympic teams.
Douglas has not participated in the Olympics since the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where she helped the U.S. win gold in the team competition.
Douglas, who in 2012 became the first Black gymnast to win the Olympic all-around gold medal, told NBC News in February that her competitive fire rekindled after watching the 2022 U.S. Championships. It was then she decided to return to the gym in hopes of making a comeback.
“I didn't want to end this sport how I did in 2016. I wanted to take a step back and work on my mental state,” said Douglas, who is training on all four apparatuses, but focusing more on the uneven bars. “I love gymnastics and love pushing myself. ... I never wanted to walk away on a bad day."
Douglas' comeback was put on pause in February after she tested positive for COVID-19 and had to withdraw from the USA Gymnastics’ Winter Cup in Louisville, Kentucky.
Earlier this month, Douglas competed at the U.S. Classic in Hartford, Connecticut, and struggled on the uneven bars before withdrawing.
Douglas told Roenigk that while she won't be a part of the 2024 team she has her eyes on the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles when she will be 32.
