Sports
Gymnast Training in West Des Moines Has Shot at All-Around Title Says Coach Chow
Gabby Douglas, who trains at Chow's Gymnastics in West Des Moines, may be the best on uneven bars as the squad for the London Olympics is assembled. But Coach Liang Chow wants her to have a shot at the all-around title, too.
Gymnast Gabby Douglas — the 16-year-old Virginia native now training for the London Olympics at in West Des Moines — has more to offer the squad than her skill on the uneven bars, said her coach.
Liang Chow told the Des Moines Register he hopes Douglas puts the full range of her talent on display Saturday at the U.S. Classic at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. There is speculation that Douglas will be the uneven bars specialist on the five-member U.S. Olympic team in London this summer.
“I think she can contribute more to the Team USA, more than bars," Chow told the newspaper. "She’s a good all-arounder. And I hope that she can demonstrate her ability for the next competitions to come.”
Douglas won gold in the uneven bars at the Pacific Rim Championships in March. But she also posted the top all-around score of 61.032 in the AT&T American Cup at Madison Square Garden earlier in March, the paper said.
The road to London begins in Chicago, continues to the national championships in St. Louis in two weeks, and culminates at the Olympic Trials in San Jose, Calif., June 28-July 1.
Douglas will compete in all four disciplines at the U.S. Classic, the Register said.
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