Douglas goes from raw to champ (St. Petersburg Times)
**Times wires**
Thursday, August 2, 2012
LONDON -- Gymnastics coach Liang Chow didn't quite know what to make of Gabby
Douglas when she decided to move halfway across the country 20 months ago to
train at his gym.
Her body was scrawny, her skills ragged, but she wanted to compete in the 2012
Olympics.
Chow was skeptical, until he realized Douglas does everything with 100-volt
energy, 100-mph speed and a 100-watt smile. She improved in leaps and bounds,
at the same rate she tumbles across a mat.
Douglas' transformation was complete Thursday, as she reigned over gymnasts
who were supposed to be more polished and reliable. Douglas won the most
coveted title in her sport, Olympic all-around gold medalist, with four
exquisitely error-free routines.
Douglas, 16, became the first black winner of the all-around. Her victory
marked the first time an American won both the individual and team titles at
the same Olympics. She joins Mary Lou Retton, Carly Patterson and Nastia
Liukin as the fourth female all-around champion from the United States. She is
the third straight American to win the title, after Patterson and Liukin.
Douglas had 62.232 points to hold off Russians Victoria Komova (61.973) and
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