Gabby DouglasToday, Gabby Douglas, America’s sweetheart of the London Olympics, competes for the final time in these games. The “Flying Squirrel,” as she is known for her aerial abilities, hopes to add a medal in the individual balance beam final to go with the pair of gold medals she already earned in the individual and team all-around competitions.
Impressively, she is the first American gymnast to win gold in both the individual all-around and team competitions at the same Olympics. Perhaps more remarkably, she is the first black person ever to win the individual all-around gymnastics title in the Olympics.
Sadly, awkward attempts at political correctness actually have understated the magnitude of Douglas’ achievement.
After she captured gold in gymnastics’ highest prize, the individual all-around, NBC’s Bob Costas announced that Douglas was, “the first African-American to win the women’s all-around in gymnastics.”
NBC’s talking hairdo was not incorrect – Douglas is the first African-American to win the women’s all-around in gymnastics. But she’s also the first black person to win gymnastics all-around gold. Period. American or not.