Gabby Douglas was good enough to snag gold in the women’s gymnastics all-around, but when it came to the uneven bars individual even her competition was just too much.
Douglas, the always-smiling 15-year-old American gymnast, failed to earn a medal in the event as Russian Aliya Mustafina claimed gold, Fox News reported. A pair of significant corrections during her routine sent Douglas to an eighth-place finish.
Gabby Douglas credited the disappointing finish to simply running out of gas at the end of a long and successful Olympic run.
”Toward the end of the Olympics, you get mentally and physically tired and you’re just like drained,” Douglas said. ”I tried to fight through it as much as I could.”
The gold medal was the first for Russia in women’s gymnastics in London and the third overall for Mustafina, who won silver in the team competition and bronze in the all-around.
Gabby Douglas had a key wobble and extra step in her landing, USA Today reported. ‘
He Kexin of China won silver, and British gymnast Elizabeth Tweddle took the bronze in front of her home crowd.
Gabby Douglas had a chance for a medal, needing to score higher than 16.916 on her final routine to knock Tweddle out of the third spot. But instead Douglas faltered to a 14.9, her worse score in four sessions.
“It was an amazing talent of finalists,” Gabby Douglas said after the competition. “Coming into bar finals was a big challenge for me. I made a little mistake, but I’m human and when you get towards the end of the Olympics you get drained and tired.