Olympic hero visits SRU
SLIPPERY ROCK — Gabby Douglas, Olympic gold medalist, grew up looking up to gymnasts like Carly Patterson and as an adult has gotten to rub elbows with celebrities like Beyonce, Drake and Tom Brady.
But Douglas didn't hesitate when asked Thursday night who her hero is.
“My mom. She has always been a fighter. She has always taught me to keep fighting,” she said.
Douglas, 21, participated in a moderated discussion inside the packed Smith Student Center Ballroom at Slippery Rock University.
Her visit was hosted by SRU's University Program Board, which brought Douglas to campus after students named her as a top pick to speak on campus in a poll.
She talked with SRU professor Nick Artman before the program was opened up to questions from the audience, which included SRU students and many young gymnasts.
Although she said she is taking a break from gymnastics, Douglas is one of the most famous and most decorated gymnasts in the United States.
At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, she became the first person of African descent to win the individual all-around champion at the Olympics. She also became the first American gymnast to win gold in both the all-around and team competitions in 2012. She made the U.S. team again in 2016 and won another gold medal at the games in Rio de Janerio.
On Thursday night, she said that Patterson, a medalist in the 2004 Olympic games, was one of her early role models.
“At age 8 I started competing and at age 9 I got introduced to the Olympics by the TV screen,” she said.
Despite breaking bones and missing some competitions, she tried to stay positive and persevere.
“The number one pressure is always to be perfect. Gymnastics is about muscle memory and you have to do it over and over again,” she said. “It takes a lot of mental strength, because you're bound to mess up. You're human.”
Douglas said that she sometimes felt isolated because of her race, but was never excluded or deprived of opportunities to succeed in her sport.
Becoming famous as a teenager in the age of social media, she said that she felt the brunt of people's criticisms in recent years.
“You can't please everybody. At the end of the day, you just kind of do you, and be happy with what you do,” she said.
She said that she was homeschooled and trained for gymnastics events six days a week — leaving no time for a social life or other activities.
“My mom always told me to have perspective. How many people get to go overseas and compete for the USA,” she said.
She said she has been taking time recently to enjoy life and has been taking acting lessons.
Though she turned down one student's offer to go out to the bar for drinks, she did agree to sign a young fan's gymnastics leotard and stayed after the event to take photographs with adoring fans.
