She had to pack up her bedroom in Virgina Beach, where she lived with her mother, two sisters and brother. She had to say goodbye to her two dogs, who used to sleep in her bed, and to the beach, where she loved to ride waves on her boogie board.
But it was time to take the leap, however, heartbreaking and awkward it would be. Even at 14, Douglas knew that.
So off she went about 1,200 miles to West Des Moines, Lowa, to train with a coach from China and live with a white family she had never been met. When she arrived, Douglas thought that she must be the only black person in the state. When she woke up she always said, "This isn't my bed set. Where am I?"
Liang Chow, who had coached the Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson, transformed Douglas into one of the best gymnasts in the world, helping her skyrocket from an average member of the national team to the top of the sport. And a couple with four daughters became her second family, nurturing her Iown while her real family supported her from afar.
That move also was important in Douglas's making history. By winning the Olympic all-round title, she became the first black woman to do so. She also became the fourth American woman to win the all-round, following Mary Lou Retton in 1984, Carly Pattemson in 2004 and Nastia Liukin in 2008.
Douglas won, scoring 62.232 points, and led the competition from beginning to end. Viktoria Komova, who sobbed into her coach's chest when she learned she had lost, won the silver, with 61.973 points. Aliya Mustafina, the 2010 world all-round champion, won the bronze, with 59.566 points. The other American in the competition, Aly Raisman finished fourth after losing a tiebreaker(决胜局) to Mustafina.
Douglas said she had felt confidence all along that she would win. "It was just an amazing feeling," she said, giggling(咯咯笑): "I was just like, believe, don't fear, believe." After sacrificing(牺牲)so much, she had no other choice but to push forward, she said.