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Posts tagged as “Věra Čáslavská”

U.S. Gymnastics Sensation Simone Biles Soars to Fourth Gold Medal in Rio Olympics

By goodblacknews on August 16, 2016

Simone Biles nailed her signature move, The Biles, to win the gold medal in the floor exercise. (Credit: Dmitri Lovetsky/Associated Press)

article by Victor Mather and Lela Moore via nytimes.com
RIO DE JANEIRO — For anyone who doubted her after a subpar performance on the balance beam, Simone Biles sent an emphatic message on Tuesday: She is unbeatable in the floor exercise.

Biles bounced back from a bronze medal performance on the beam to dominate the floor, completing her Rio Olympics with four gold medals and the bronze. She is the fourth American female gymnast to win five medals in a single Olympics, joining Mary Lou Retton (1984), Shannon Miller (1992) and Nastia Liukin (2008).

Biles scored a 15.966 in the floor, considered her best event.

Her signature floor move is the Biles, a double layout with a half-twist and a blind landing. She performed the move nearly perfectly, adding a stag leap, which she had left out of her performance in the team event but included in the individual all-around.

Her score dwarfed those of her competitors. Her teammate Aly Raisman won the silver medal with a routine slightly less difficult than Biles’s, sticking every landing on every tumbling pass. The bronze medal went to Amy Tinkler, the first female gymnast from Britain to compete in a floor final.

Raisman earned her sixth Olympic medal and her third at these Games. She won the team gold and the silver in the individual all-around, behind Biles, who also won the vault.

Tuesday’s victory put Biles in an exclusive club. Just three female gymnasts before her — Ecaterina Szabo of Romania (1984), Vera Caslavska of Czechoslovakia (1968) and Larisa Latynina of the Soviet Union (1956) — had also won four gold medals in one Olympics.

To read full article, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/16/sports/olympics/rio-schedule-simone-biles-results.html

Gabby Douglas Wins American Cup, Pushes Towards Gold at 2nd Olympics

By goodblacknews on March 6, 2016

Gabby Douglas at American Cup (photo via Getty Images)
Gabby Douglas at American Cup (photo by Elsa via Getty Images)

article by Rachel Axon via usatoday.com
NEWARK, N.J. – The world championships silver medal should have been enough to erase any doubt in Gabby Douglas’ comeback.
Yes, the reigning Olympic all-around gold medalist is trying to do what has been a sometimes insurmountable task for many talented gymnasts – come back for a second Olympics. And Douglas isn’t coming back for some sort of participation ribbon.
But in case any doubts lingered, she put more to rest on Saturday.  Now 20, Douglas wants to achieve more in the Olympics. She set herself on that path by winning the American Cup at the Prudential Center, earning her first trip to the top of the podium since winning the Olympic all-around in London in 2012.
“From the bottom of my heart, I really believe that I can achieve more,” Douglas said. “And it’s just not for the wrong intentions. I’m like, ‘Guys, I’m back. I’m serious.’ I feel like gradually and the more and more I keep proving that, I really hope that people believe it.”
To be sure, part of those doubts are the challenge. Since 1980, only six American women have gone on to compete in a second Olympics. No woman has repeated as gold medalist since Věra Čáslavská in 1968.
Douglas hears the doubts about her and whether the comeback is for publicity. It’s not, or she wouldn’t be able to sustain herself through training.  Instead, she has the incredible urge former national team coordinator Bela Karolyi has seen in many other Olympians.