Gabby Douglas

Americans Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas gave it their all on the balance beam at the London Olympics today. Did either come away with a medal?

Find out below if you want to know before it airs tonight ...

As the final competitor of the event, Aly Raisman earned a bronze, but not until her score was adjusted amid controversy and she won a tie-breaker.

The very same one that screwed her out of a bronze earlier in the Olympics, as fate would have it. So what the heck happened on the balance beam?

Chinese gymnasts Deng Linlin and Sui Lu had posted scores of 15.6 and 15.5, virtually assuring themselves of silver and gold medals, respectively.

Romania's Catalina Ponor was third at 15.066, a score Aly Raisman had a good shot at beating. She came just up short, however, at 14.966.

The U.S. quickly put in an inquiry regarding the degree of difficulty score awarded to Aly and after the judges conferred, they raised it by 0.1.

Continue Reading...

London Olympics sensation Gabby Douglas' journey to become U.S. team and all-around individual gymnastics champion has come at considerable cost.

The two-time gold medalist spoke candidly about her family's tough times amid her quest for glory, including her mom current's financial woes.

"It was hard for us growing up ... my dad had left us, so he wasn't really in the picture anymore," the 16-year-old told the New York Post.

"So, my mom had to front all these bills," Gabby recalled. "My dad didn't really pay the child support. He was really short [on money]"

"It was definitely hard on my mom, taking care of me and my siblings."

Gabby's father, Timothy Douglas, was a military man who had been deployed to the Middle East when she was just nine years old.

Although the family had resided in Virginia Beach, Va., the future Olympic champion eventually moved to Des Moines, Iowa, to train.

Continue Reading...

Move over, Missy Franklin. You aren't the only Olympian receiving best wishes from the stars.

With Justin Bieber having recorded a video message for that swimming sensation, the cast of The CW's Vampire Diaries has now gone ahead and done the same for Gabby Douglas.

While the gymnast finished last in yesterday's uneven bars, she remains one of this year's U.S. darlings, capturing team Gold and individual Gold in the all-around competition. She gets back to it this evening and Ian Somerhalder and company are here to wish her and teammate Aly Raisman the very best of luck.

Watch now:

Vampire Diaries Stars to Gabby Douglas: Good luck!

The Vampire Diaries Season 4 gets underway on October 11.

Olympic individual all-around gymnastics champion Gabby Douglas was back in action today in London, partaking in the uneven bars competition.

How'd she do? Find out below ...

She didn't live up to her impossibly high standards, finishing 8th. As such, the teen's gold medal haul remains at two (the biggest two).

In addition to her team and individual gold medal wins, Gabby Douglas' hair has gotten a lot of attention, as has her Corn Flakes box.

Girl has a bright future, for sure.

Aliya Mustafina of Russia, He Kexin of China and Beth Tweddle of Great Britain won the gold, silver and bronze medals, respectively.

For the United States, Douglas' teammates didn't fare any better. Kyla Ross was 11th, Jordyn Wieber 12th and Aly Raisman 23rd.

Fresh off her amazing Olympic wins in the team and individual gymnastics events, Gabby Douglas is already on a box of Kellogg's Corn Flakes!

It's a great honor for the 16-year-old Douglas, a.k.a. the Flying Squirrel, who fittingly trains in Des Moines, Iowa, the heart of corn country.

Gabby Douglas hair controversy aside, she's won nothing but praise for her efforts on the bars, vault, beam and floor over the past week.

Gabby helped the U.S. to the team gold earlier in the week, then became just the fourth American (after Mary Lou Retton, Carly Patterson and Nastia Liukin) and first African-American woman to win the individual all-around gymnastics crown.

After her final routine, the floor exercise, she had to wait for her final competitor, Victoria Komova of Russia, to see if her top score would hold up.

It did.

"I was like okay … do I have the gold? Do I have the silver? What do I have? My heart was pounding," Douglas said in a Today show interview.

Douglas also reminisced about the road she took to the gold medal, moving at 14 from her Virginia Beach, Va., home to Iowa for coaching.

"It took a lot of hard days in the gym, a lot of drive," she said. "Gold medals are made out of sweat, blood and tears and effort in the gym every day."

Well earned, Gabby. Well earned!

American teenager Gabby Douglas has been wowing the world with grace, style, and of course, the women's all-around gymnastics gold medal.

Nevertheless, much of the chatter on social media and online platforms has been about the upkeep of her hair, and not all feedback is positive.

Douglas, one of the few African-American gymnasts ever to compete in the Olympics and the first to win all-around gold, is an inspiring story.

Time and Sports Illustrated have her on their covers. President Barack Obama called to congratulate her. So why do people care about Gabby Douglas' hair?!

“I love how she’s doing her thing and winning,’’ says 22-year-old Latisha Jenkins of Detroit told The Daily Beast. “But I just hate the way her hair looks."

"With all those pins and gel ... I wish someone could have helped her make it look better since she’s being seen all over the world."

"She representing for black women everywhere.’’

According to reports, the 4'11" Douglas appears to have chemically relaxed natural hair, to which she adds a human-hair ponytail for height.

The Olympic champ then apparently slicks it all back with a heavy layer of gel to help it stay in place during her high-energy performances.

Hair has always been something of a hot button issue for African-American women culturally, but in the case of Douglas, isn't the criticism a little much?

Douglas’ accomplishments speak for themselves ... for the conversation to turn to a teenager’s physical appearance and upkeep seems a bit unfair.

Do you like her hair? Does it matter? Tell us what you think.

Gabby Douglas just made history in London.

The 16-year old became the first African-American female gymnast to win Gold in the all-around individual competition.

Leading the entire way, Douglas finished with 62.232 points, out-earning Russia's Victoria Komova (61.973). Aly Raisman of the U.S. actually finished tied for third, but did not medal due to a tiebreaker that gave the edge to Aliya Mustafina based on "execution.

A near-fall on the balance beam likely cost Raisman a spot on the podium, but we're sure her excitable parents are still very proud.

Earlier in the week, Douglas and Raisman were part of the first women's team to capture gymnastic Gold since 1996, proving once and for all: no one can flip, tumble and split like those who represent the red, white and blue!