April 2024 Issue!

28 Mar April 2024 Issue!

Posted at 16:43h in Issue Previews by Christy Sandmaier 0 Comments

Features Sneak Peek!

Updated: Today USA Gymnastics announced the April 2024 National Team camp roster. 3-time Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas was not among the those who received an invitation. See Olympics.com take here.

Our April Issue of Inside Gymnastics magazine features an exclusive with 3-time Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas as she eyes Paris 2024. With her love for the sport revitalized, Gabby takes us through her journey of self-discovery and why she’s pursuing her third Olympic dream. Plus, we take a look at Team USA’s top contenders for Paris following Winter Cup, chat with Kayla DiCello and revisit the inaugural Inside Gymnastics Classic! The issue also features all of your favorites: Inside Buzz, People, Places and Faces, Chalking Up, Shannon Says with Shannon Miller and more!

“The first day I walked into the gym I did kips on bars … well barely kips on bars, which is crazy,” Douglas said. “I couldn’t even cast and I’m like, ‘Am I sure I want to do this?’” However, with each passing day, the skills became easier and easier. “Once I started getting into the daily grind and being very consistent with the training, it became very easy to get the skills back,” she said.

At the age of 28, Douglas is refining old skills in addition to learning new ones, including a stunning Healy to Ling to Piked Jaeger combination on the uneven bars – which she has never competed before. More importantly, she is loving the sport more than ever before and enjoying the learning process all over again.

Joy has been paramount to Douglas’ comeback journey. It was something she admittedly lost in the lead up to Rio, which led her to withdraw from the sport for the better half a decade.

“Between 2013 and 2016, [the] journey was really hard for me,” Douglas shared. “Man, there was a lot going on and I went through a really rough time.”

Despite capturing gold with Team USA on the sport’s biggest stage in Rio, it seemed the world was focused on anything but her historic achievements. Douglas faced criticism for just about everything – from the way her hair looked to why she wasn’t smiling enough to whether or not she should be on the team. In the months and years that followed, many assumed Douglas’ days in the sport were done as she shied away from making appearances at gymnastics competitions and rarely posted about her career on social media. However, she was intentional about never announcing her retirement. “Honestly, deep down I never wanted to fully give it up and walk away.”

Editor’s Note: Inside Gymnastics interviewed Gabby Douglas for this feature on January 19 in Plano, TX. On February 27, following Douglas’ absence from Winter Cup due to COVID-19, Olympics.com broke the news that she had left WOGA on Sunday, February 25. On February 28, Douglas took to her Insta story to post: “COVID free and finally on the mend… time to get back to work” – but did not reveal her training location. On March 6, a representative at WME Agency confirmed to Inside Gymnastics that Douglas had resumed training at WOGA stating in an email: “Gabby is still at WOGA! She remains laser focused on doing everything in her power to put herself in the best position for Paris, including exploring every training opportunity that might best suit that mission. Presently, that is at WOGA.” Douglas will have upcoming opportunities to showcase her skills to the National Team staff and pave her path to Paris. The first could come in April at a National Team training camp or in May at the Core Hydration Classic. Per USA Gymnastics: “The High Performance Leadership Team has received requests from several non-national team athletes to attend April National Team Camp. April Camp invitations are based on National Team status, Winter Cup performances, capacity and athlete availability.” On March 28, USA Gymnastics released the roster for camp. Douglas was not on it.