From left: U.S. gymnasts McKayla Maroney, Kyla Ross, Aly Raisman, Gabrielle Douglas and Jordyn Wieber celebrate at the London Games on July 31, 2012.
It’s every gymnast’s dream to win the Olympic all-around title, but no U.S. athlete had ever done the twofer — the all-around and a team gold medal — until Gabrielle Douglas flipped and tumbled her way to the top of both podiums in London. Two days after doing her part to help the U.S. women’s gymnastics team earn its first gold since 1996 with nearly flawless performances, Douglas did it all again to claim the all-around gold. Even she didn’t know that she would be making history. “You learn something new every day!” she said when she found out. Douglas’ hug with coach Liang Chow when the final standings were announced spoke volumes: following her wins, she admitted that she had come close to quitting the sport after being the victim of bullying at a gym early in her career.