Gabby Douglas has been better – just a few days ago, in fact, when she captured the all-around gold medal in women’s gymnastics. Monday, that almost magical quality she had was not there, and she finished last in the uneven bars at the London Olympics.
With two medals already secure, Douglas missed out on a third in an effort she admitted could have been much better.
“I could have fought a little harder and pulled it around,” she said.
But she did not.
“I tried to finish as strongly as I could, but some days you either have it or you don’t.”
The darling of the Olympics was not able to recover from her mistake on an inside full pirouette and had to settle for eighth.
So, Russia’s Aliva Mustafina who clinched the gold with a flawless routine to score 16.133, with China’s He Kexin in second and Great Britain’s Elzabeth Tweddle giving the home crowd something to cheer in taking the broze.
After Tweddle, Douglas received the biggest cheer of the afternoon, evidence of the magnitude of her all-round effort that claimed her gold..
The final gymnast to compete, she looked confident and sprung onto the bars from the board with style. But as her complex series of rotations got under way, a temporary lapse robbed her of momentum. And from that point on, a medal would be hard to achieve.
This victory was sweet for Mustafina, whose mistakes contributed to Russia falling well behind the Americans in the team event and who narrowly secured a bronze in the individual event – ahead of the USA’s Aly Raisman on count-back.
Victoria Komova, who missed out to Douglas in the individual, could not cope with the pressure, clipping her toes on the lower bar, making an awkward landing, and trudging off in disappointment.
By the time Douglas’s turn came many in the audience were torn, wanting to see more brilliance from the young American but also willing Tweddle to hold on to her bronze position.
In the end Douglas could not repeat her magic from earlier in the week, but she remains the darling of the gymnastics competition nonetheless.
“Since the gold medals, my confidence level has gone up,” Douglas said. “I’m going to come back in the beam final and try to finish on a good note.”
