Via: abcnews.go.com
Gabby Douglas has made history at the Olympics, edging out her competition to win the most coveted title in all of women’s gymnastics – a gold medal in the women’s individual all-around competition – and a gold medal in the team competition. It was no easy accomplishment to reach that podium as the star gymnast left behind life as she knew it to make her Olympic dream a reality.
Two years ago, Douglas, then a 14-year-old from Virginia Beach, Va., took a leap of faith. “She said, ‘I really need to have a change in my coaching’ … and said ‘I want Liang Chow,'” Douglas’ mother, Natalie Hawkins, recalled.
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Chow had coached Shawn Johnson to Olympic gold four years ago in Beijing, and Douglas thought he would be the coach to catapult the rising gymnast to the Olympic stardom she so desperately craved. There was one problem; he lived more than 1,200 miles away in Des Moines, Iowa.
Hawkins, a single mom, was faced with the impossibly difficult decision of whether she should let her youngest daughter move halfway across the country.
“So, [Gabby] said, ‘Well, I’ll go by myself,’ and I said, ‘Do you understand what you’re saying?'” said Hawkins. “There was just one thing. It was that we would miss her.”
Douglas’ sisters Arielle and Joy helped convince their mom that letting her go was necessary. After much hesitation and wavering, Hawkins relented and sent her.
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