Thursday, August 9, 2012
The issue of race can’t be swept back like a gymnast’s ponytail.
- OPINION
-
Thursday, August 9, 2012
The racial divide in this country is deeper than even Gabby Douglas can surmount (Gabby Douglas’s Hair Foibles at London Olympics: Editor’s Notebook, Aug. 8, 2012). Controversy about the Olympic gold medalist spread faster than a pandemic this week after negative Tweets surfaced about her ponytail and hair texture on Twitter. The ruckus has provoked lingering conversations about race. Some people seem to think that race should be completely stripped from conversations about Douglas, who is the first African-American gymnast to win a gold medal in the all-around. She’s an American hero, they say. Leave her race out of it. But, race isn’t something Douglas can take off and on like her medals. “When you’re ‘America’s Sweetheart’ like Douglas…
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Gabby, what you need is a grain shovel. You don't actually have to hit them over the head. Just imagine it. It's all in the wind-up.
Dear Gabby, Here at Patch, we are not fair-weather friends. We love you, in victory and in … what happened Monday and Tuesday. We don’t care about your hair, except to say it’s lovely. And we flat-out love your mom, Natalie Hawkins, for saying this: “How ignorant is it of people to comment on her hair and she still has more competitions to go. Are you trying to ruin her self-confidence?," Hawkins told Fashionista.com. "She has to go out there and feel good about herself, and if she feels good about herself on that floor, who are you to criticize her? What have you done to help contribute to her dream, that you felt it necessary to put it out there so that she could see it?” And you for saying this: "Really?! I won two gold medals and made …
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
With two gold medals already in hand, West Des Moines-trained Gabby Douglas competed for individual honors Tuesday morning on the balance beam in the London Olympics.
West Des Moines-trained gymnast Gabby Douglas finished the London 2012 Olympics Tuesday with a disappointing showing on the balance beam, failing to medal after slipping on the beam. The other American in the balance beam finals, Aly Raisman, turned in a strong performance, scoring 14.966 to finish fourth. Des Moines Register deputy sports editor Mark Emmert Tweeted that Douglas got the loudest ovation from a large contingent of Americans inside North Greenwich Arena before she and her coach headed to the tunnel rather than watch the other competitors. "Tough break," he Tweeted later as Douglas slipped and fell off the beam. "She hadn't faltered on the beam in two months. Looks mad at herself. Chow gives her a reassuring smile and big hug…
The West Des Moines-trained gymnast looks for a better showing in today's balance beam competition than she had in the uneven bars. Check out the Olympics schedule of events.
The world has a final chance Tuesday to watch America’s new gymnastics star, Gabby Douglas, compete for gold in the London 2012 Olympics. Douglas is one of eight gymnasts vying for gold on the balance beam, the same apparatus that earned West Des Moines’ other gymnastics sweetheart, Shawn Johnson, a gold medal in the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Both women trained at Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute and both trained intensely with balance beam specialist Liewen Zhuang. The finals begin at 8:47 a.m. Iowa time (2:47 p.m. London time). Douglas competes sixth in the rotation, while teammate Aly Raisman competes last. Douglas has two golds to show so far from the Olympics -- one for the team competition and the other for best all-around gymnast…
Monday, August 6, 2012
With two gold medals already in her hands, West Des Moines-trained Gabby Douglas competed for individual honors on the uneven bars Monday morning in the London Olympics.
West Des Moines-trained gymnast Gabby Douglas failed to medal on the uneven parallel bars in London 2012 Olympics with a 14.900 score that left her in eighth place. Aliya Mustafina of Russia won with a 16.1. Kexin He of China was second and Great Britian's Elizabeth Tweddle won bronze, according to USAToday. The competition was suspenseful to the end, as Douglas was last in the rotation. The uneven parallel bars are Douglas’s speciality, the apparatus that earned America’s new women’s gymnastics sweetheart the “Flying Squirrel” moniker from national team coordinator Martha Karolyi. Des Moines Register sports writer Mark Emmert Tweeted that Monday Douglas had “one noticeable lean out of alignment, slight step on dismount. She is not showing…
Defending champion He Kexin of China is favored to win the gold on the uneven bars.
Twice a gold medal winner in the London 2012 Olympics, Gabby Douglas will be the last gymnast to perform Monday on the uneven bars – her specialty, and apparatus that earned America’s new women's gymnastics sweetheart the “Flying Squirrel” moniker. Can she do it again? Yes, if she’s focused, her coach, Liang Chow, told USA Today’s Kelly Whiteside. He thinks Douglas will be focused, despite an onslaught of publicity surrounding the history-making gymnast, who moved to West Des Moines two years ago to train at Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute. That's the same place Shawn Johnson trained before earning four medals, including a gold on the balance beam, in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Iowa's NBC stations will show Gabby Douglas and women's …
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Could you send your child 1,000 miles away for training, to live with a culturally different family, if it meant she could achieve Olympic dreams?
From the moment in 2008 that Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas saw how much fun Shawn Johnson and her coach, Liang Chow, seemed to be having, she began lobbying mom Natalie Hawkins to move more than 1,000 miles away to West Des Moines so she could train at Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute. It was a hard sell. Finally, in 2010 Hawkins, a single mother of four, relented. Douglas told her mom she had a shot at the Olympics, but only if she got advanced training from Chow. "I'm sick to my stomach the whole time and when it's time to go back, I'm not even sure where she's staying. And I'm thinking to myself the whole time, 'What kind of mother does something like that?'" the Huffington Post quoted Hawkins as saying at the London 2012 …
Saturday, August 4, 2012
City and civic leaders can’t buy the kind of prime-time media exposure that West Des Moines has received through countless mentions during NBC's Olympics coverage, and from other news outlets.
Back when West Des Moines officials were deciding on “Positioned Perfectly” as the city’s new economic development slogan, no one added the prepositional phrase “for Olympic gold.” They might want to think about that as the city’s adopted daughter, Gabby Douglas, brought notoriety to West Des Moines with gold-medal winning and crowd-pleasing performances at the London 2012 Olympics. Leaders say it’s hard to quantify the value to the city when NBC Olympics announcers say “Gabby Douglas from West Des Moines, Iowa.” Linda Hulleman, the West Des Moines Chamber of Commerce’s operations director, said that as she watched the gymnastics televised qualifying rounds Sunday, she had an urge to write a thank-you note to NBC announcer Al Trautwig. “I’…
Thursday, August 2, 2012
The West Des Moines-trained gymnast faces competition from teammate Aly Raisman and the Russians.
Already a gold medal winner, Gabby Douglas competes this morning in the individual all-around finals at the London 2012 Olympics. NBC, which has exclusive U.S. broadcasting rights for the summer Olympics, will air highlights tonight, beginning at 7 p.m. The competition begins at 10:30 a.m., CDST (4:30 p.m. in London). Douglas moved to West Des Moines two years ago to train with Liang Chow, who coached West Des Moines native Shawn Johnson to gold four years ago at Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute. Read the full Thursday schedule for the U.S. Women’s Olympics Gymnastics Team. Despite despite her powerful, team-leading performance Tuesday, Douglas faces a tough road to the gold, the Des Moines Register’s Mark Emmert reported Wednesday. …
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
The West Des Moines-trained athlete turns in a near flawless performances as the U.S. women win the team gold. Can she repeat it in the individual all-around finals Thursday?
With an effusive personality that gleamed through her near-constant smile, Gabby Douglas gave the world a hint of what’s in store when she competes Thursday for the all-around gold in women’s gymnastics at the London 2012 Olympics. The only member of the gold-medal winning Team USA to compete in all four events Tuesday night, she had the best composite score – 61.465 – of any individual. She turned in the top U.S. score on the balance beam. On the uneven bars – the apparatus that gave her the nickname “Flying Squirrel” – she finished with a solid 15.233 She competes in the all-around finals at 10:30 a.m. Thursday (4:30 p.m. London time). NBC, which has exclusive U.S. broadcast rights, will air the competition beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday. …
Troy Murphy
11:33 pm on Sunday, August 12, 2012
Really, that's why you labeled Douglas the first African-American gymnast to win a gold medal because that was what she wanted to be labeled. more ›