Gabby Douglas has had a pretty great year: She won two gold medals including the all-around, was named Sportswoman of the Year and AP Athlete of the Year, wrote a book, met the President, appeared on a Wheaties Box, Vampire Diaries, and Oprah, threw out first pitches in New York and LA, and even led the Pledge at the Democratic National Convention. But now it’s back to work.
Gabby returned to her West Des Moines, Iowa gym Monday to discuss her return to the sport with coach Liang Chow and hop on the mat for her first practice since the London Games last summer.
“She is very excited to be coming back,” Chow told the AP. “She can’t wait any longer. She’s the kind of person who wants to be achieving.
“She wants to feel good about her improvement and her goal setting. That’s the attitude Gabby is about and now she can set out a goal and achieve it, through the sport.”
But the road back to competition form isn’t easy, even for a gold medalist. Gabby has been out of practice for about nine months, Chow said Gabby needs to get back in shape before they can discuss a realistic training plan and start building on her skills, adding new moves and creating new routines.
“I think 2014 is an excellent possibility for competition.”
And then maybe they’ll start thinking about Rio.
