being America's newest gymnastics sweetheart. Douglas, who moved to West Des Moines two years ago to train with coach Liang Chow , received the loudest cheers of all the athletes upon being introduced to the crowd. Douglas's hair was down
packages, there's plenty of steel inside. She watched the 2008 Beijing Olympics and admired the way then-U.S. coach Liang Chow worked with star pupil, Shawn Johnson . Based only on that impression, Douglas told her mother she wanted to train
were born to perform under it. “She stayed calm and showed her mental toughness under the pressure,” said her coach , Liang Chow . “We’re very pleased.” They should be. Douglas left home at age 14, moving from Virginia Beach to Des Moines
stand when the talk show maven said on Twitter that she was ''so THRILLED for Gabby. Flowing happy tears!!'' Coach Liang Chow told Douglas the gold was hers after an electrifying floor routine, but she had to wait another five minutes until
the bar she could have changed the overhead lights. Her feet slammed into the mat on her dismount, and delighted coach Liang Chow sprinted around the end of the podium, pumping his fist. Douglas scored a 15.333, and the Americans were cruising
things have changed.” She looked toward the floor of the arena and smiled. Yes, it’s sad to watch her old coach , Liang Chow , interacting with his new star pupil, the likely 2012 Olympian Gabrielle Douglas. He was like a dad to Johnson
came age 14, when Gabby packed her bags and moved to West Des Moines, Iowa. There she trained with Johnson’s coach , Liang Chow . She left behind her family, she left behind her friends, and she moved in with Missy and Travis Parton
Watching the 2008 Olympics, Douglas had been impressed by the warm relationship Shawn Johnson had with her coach , Liang Chow , and how happy Chow always seemed. That, Douglas told her mother, was who she wanted to train with. Two years