Gabby Douglas celebrates after she won the artistic gymnastics women's individual all-around final on Aug. 2, 2012, during London's Olympic Games.
(Credit: Getty)Earlier she had tweeted an update about her faith:
Douglas became the third straight American to win gymnastics' biggest prize when she won the all-around Olympic title on Thursday. She's also the first African-American to take home the title, finishing with a score of 62.232, about three-tenths ahead of Viktoria Komova of Russia.
It's her second gold medal of the London Games, coming two nights after she and her "Fierce Five" teammates gave the United States its first Olympic team title since 1996.
Complete Coverage: 2012 London OlympicsWhen Douglas, 16, stood atop the medals podium on Thursday night, she wore a smile bright enough to outshine that pretty gold medal around her neck.
"It feels amazing to be the Olympic champion," Douglas said.
But when Douglas first arrived at the 2012 London Games, there was something off. Her coach, Liang Chow, could tell that the gymnast was physically hurting. Team coordinator Martha Karolyi thought Douglas' focus was lacking. Karolyi knew something had to change.
"Chow and I had a big meeting and we had to address it," Karolyi said. "She turned it around and we worked and worked and made it better. ... There are key moments when you have to do something. That was a key moment."
What did Chow tell Douglas to turn her around? "Chow told me 'Everyone has pain so just go out there and why are you focused on that? You are at the Olympics so put that behind you and if you don't push it now then you don't have a chance," Douglas said.
She added, "So we had this little bit of a talk and it definitely hyped me up."
