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Gabby Douglas says this is 'not the end' of gymnastics story, thanks fans for support
FORT WORTH, Texas – Gabby Douglas isn't done with gymnastics just yet.
Four days after withdrawing from this weekend's U.S. championships and ending any chance she had of making the Paris Games, the three-time Olympic champion took to Instagram on Sunday to thank fans for their support and send good luck to the women still competing.
"First off i just wanted to say that i am forever grateful for all of your support, grace, and love. it truly has touched my heart," Douglas wrote. "This may be the end of this chapter but not the end of my gymnastics story."
The 2012 Olympic champion was trying to make it to Paris eight years after last competing. She struggled in her first competitions since the Rio Olympics, falling twice on uneven bars at both the American Classic in late April and the U.S. Classic two weeks ago.
Douglas scratched from the U.S. Classic after bars, her first event in the meet, looking somber on the sidelines before leaving the arena. She said Sunday that a "foot injury during practice" prevented her from competing at nationals.
Douglas, now 28, came back to the sport wanting a different ending to her career. Despite being a three-time Olympic medalist, with team golds in 2012 and 2016 as well as her all-around title in London, she said she was "hating" gymnastics by the end of the Rio Olympics.
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The first Black woman to win the Olympic all-around title, she was subjected to relentless criticism by fans in both 2012 and 2016. She was ridiculed for her hair and chastised for her demeanor during the national anthem, and there are still some fans who say, wrongly, that Douglas didn't belong on the Rio team.
Douglas had the third-highest score in qualifying in Rio, behind Simone Biles and Aly Raisman, but didn't make the all-around final because of the two-per-country limit. She had the second-highest score for the United States on uneven bars in both qualifying and team finals, and that event effectively ended any hope Russia had of catching the Americans.
Douglas never officially retired, and realized while watching the 2022 national championships that she missed gymnastics. She confirmed last July that she was training again, with an eye on Paris.
More: Eight years after Rio Olympics, gold medalist Gabby Douglas getting ending she deserves
"Regardless of the outcome, I want to make sure I end on love and joy instead of hating something that I love," Douglas said at the U.S. Classic.
Asked if she now felt that, Douglas responded, "I do! Yes, I do."
Douglas also got some of the love she always deserved. At the U.S. Classic, she received thunderous applause when she was introduced. Little girls who weren't even born when Douglas won her Olympic all-around time shrieked her name in hopes of getting her attention.
"Thank you all for being with me on this journey and lifting me up on my lowest days i love you all so much!" Douglas wrote Sunday.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Olympic champion Gabby Douglas says her 'gymnastics story' isn't done
