Raisman, Douglas making return trip
2nd Olympics is rare feat for U.S. gymnasts
SAN JOSE As part of the Fierce Five, Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas already had the respect of gymnastics greats.
By making the U.S. team for the Rio Olympics four years later, they’ve earned the admiration of more. Raisman and Douglas accomplished an increasingly rare feat in American gymnastics, one many other Olympic greats did not.
“I am just beyond the words to say that I respect them so much,” said Mary Lou Retton, who didn’t try for a second team after winning Olympic gold in 1984. “What they’ve done is incredibly hard.”
There are many reasons for that, not the least of which is the Americans’ depth, the physical demands on a body four years older and the increased difficulty from the progression of the sport.
Raisman and Douglas are the first gymnasts since Amy Chow and Dominique Dawes in 2000 to make a second U.S. Olympic team. Douglas is the first reigning Olympic all-around gold medalist to return since Nadia Comaneci did it in 1980.
To be sure, many other gymnasts have tried for a second Olympics. Since the start of the modern Games, 14 American women have made a second U.S. team, but only six of those had done so since 1980 until Raisman and Douglas added their names to the list.
Nastia Liukin won all-around gold in Beijing, and all but one of her teammates tried to return in 2012. None did.
“It’s hard for me not to cheer for them a little extra, because going for your first Olympic Games is so difficult but going for your second one, I don’t know if there’s anything harder,” Liukin said. “And especially making the U.S. women’s Olympic team, I’m not sure there’s a harder team to make in the world. The depth in this country is incredible.”
Liukin ran into the two biggest obstacles the Americans face in their comeback attempts — staying healthy in a physically demanding sport and holding back the crop of talented gymnasts in the pipeline.
Raisman and Douglas managed to clear those two hurdles.
Douglas said knowing what to expect a second time around helped mentally. Raisman said focusing on nutrition and recovery has allowed her body to even feel better than it did as an 18-yearold in London.
“We’ve all been working so hard, and obviously coming back there were a lot of days where it didn’t feel like it was coming together,” Raisman said. “But that’s why I came back about three years ago, because it takes this long to get back into the kind of shape you need to be in in order to do all these routines.”
Simone Biles, Madison Kocian and Laurie Hernandez also made the team, and none of those gymnasts was old enough to compete in the 2012 trials. Hernandez, the youngest on this team, turned 16 last month and is a first-year senior-level competitor.
Besides holding off younger competitors, Raisman and Douglas had the added pressure of expectations. After helping the Americans to team gold four years ago, Raisman won gold on floor and bronze on balance beam while Douglas claimed the all- around title.
“I think the first time, since I was so young, I really didn’t know what to expect,” said Douglas, who was 16 when she won in London. “I had no idea the experience behind it. I just went out there and just had fun. And this time it was just different because I knew what to expect, kind of.
“I felt the pressure a little bit more this time. But it was still fun.”
Add to that the increased difficulty in the sport under a new code of points. Raisman had some of the most difficult tumbling passes on floor when she won in 2012, but she’s had to increase her difficulty there to try to keep up with Biles, the three-time defending world champion.
Douglas had to find ways to make new connections or build routines to her strengths when old skills wouldn’t come back.
“Both of the girls showed excellent dedication,” said national team coordinator Martha Karolyi, “which is only possible if you have a love of the sport. Because we all know how much hard work it takes at this level and all the sacrifices you have to make.”
Certainly, the path was not easy. Douglas finished fifth and fourth in the last two U.S. championships but took all-around silver in the world championships last year. She struggled in the four days of competition over the last few weeks, but she performed well enough Sunday to earn the final spot on the team.
Raisman, meanwhile, struggled in the world championships last year, failing to make an event final. Yet she was the only gymnast to hit all of her routines in the U.S. championships and trials. At 22, her gymnastics are better than they were four years ago.
Thrilled to make the team four years ago, the two found it was even better the second time.
“It’s really crazy. I still really can’t believe that we both did it,” Raisman said. “It doesn’t even feel real. I feel like I’m in a dream right now, because it just all seems like a blur.”