SPOILER ALERT: The following report contains the results of the women’s All-Around competition. If you don’t want to know the outcome, watch the tape-delayed competition on NBC tonight starting at 8 p.m. ET.
Call it a dream come true! American gymnast, Gabby Douglas, won the gold medal for the women’s gymnastics individual All-Around competition today. She’s the first African-American woman in history to earn the prize!
The 16-year-old dubbed “The Flying Squirrel,” beat out members of team Russia who picked up the silver and bronze medals. Her teammate, Aly Raisman, was dangerously close to snagging the bronze from Russia, but fell short due to her execution score which acted as a tiebreaker.
Douglas’ performance left the North Greenwich Arena shouting and cheering with excitement, reports US Weekly. “Go Gabby!” the crowd roared as the young talent earned an overall score of 62.232, with 15.966 for her vault routine, 15.733 for her uneven bars routine, 15.500 for her balance beam routine and 15.033 for her floor exercise.
“I absolutely feel like all the hard work has paid off,” said Natalie Hawkins, Douglas’ dedicated mother. “I felt that way after the trials when she finished and got the guaranteed spot. Total relief.”
Douglas is the third consecutive American to win the gold medal for the event, reports the Wall Street Journal. In 2008, Nastia Liukin won the gold in Beijing and in 2004 Carly Patterson won the same event in Athens.
Today’s news brings the United States gold medal count to 38. The women’s gymnastics team took home the gold on Tuesday for the team competition. President Obama called the fab five to congratulate them on their victory. “You tore it up,” said Obama to Douglas phoning in to London from Air Force One. “I know how hard you worked to get there. Keep at it. Stay cool.”
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