The Gabby Douglas Story Page #6

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With Chow,

I competed against the best gymnasts

in this country and internationally.

Then it was time

to put it all together.

The Olympics were

just a year away.

The Visa Nationals were

the first of the competitions

that would decide

who makes the team.

As Chow said,

it was make it or break it time.

Right here, Gabby.

Your body shouldn't be hollow here.

You need to open up a little

more in your rib cage.

When you push off here,

your ankles will be springs,

but your spine reaches,

like this.

Hmm?

Mmm-hmm.

And don't be so serious.

Don't force your body

to do what it already knows.

Relax, right?

Focused but relaxed.

So grace can enter the skill.

Right?

Let me see.

Yes, Gabby!

Like that! Again.

Gabby!

Gabby!

Don't move. Don't move.

Don't move. Get some ice.

It's her hamstring.

In my mind, I kept hearing

the sound of my hamstring popping.

It was the sound of my

dreams starting to unravel.

Gabby?

I can't fall behind.

Coach Chow told me to rest tonight.

Don't tell him, okay?

What is it?

Pure determination,

dressed up like a teenager.

I don't want

to foreshadow anything here,

but she has not just this week,

but in warm-ups today,

really had a tough go on the beam.

Come on, Breezy girl.

Come on.

Let's go.

Gabrielle,

we're not gonna keep doing this.

Unless you're too short.

But it's what you wanted, right?

And the momentum

is really not going the right way

for her tonight as well.

Another big skill.

This is one of those meets that is,

quite frankly, very hard to recover from.

It's not just a matter of,

you know, having some problems.

This is letting it

really get to you

and letting the emotions

completely control your actions,

and just badness all around.

Another competition,

and you'll get your confidence back.

It's not that.

It's just...

It was make it or break it time,

and I let everyone down.

No, you did not let anyone...

I saw it in Chow's face.

After everything

everyone's done for me.

My sisters, they gave up their

sports just so I could do mine.

And my mother...

We were on food stamps,

and she always found a way

for me to keep training.

They're all real proud of you, honey.

Nobody...

And my brother...

I'm, like, his best friend,

and he's mine, and I left him.

I let everyone down.

Sports isn't always

about winning, Gabby.

It's about finding out

who you really are.

Sometimes the only way to get

stronger is to get knocked down.

Your mom is gonna be

here in four months.

Isn't that something

to look forward to?

She's pretty darned excited.

It's all she talks about.

Heck, we're all

pretty darn excited.

We're really proud

of you, Gabby.

As those four months went by,

I had the aching awareness that who

I really was did not belong there.

And after a while,

I couldn't think of anything else.

Who I really was

wanted to go home.

Concentrate, Gabby.

Think of the skill

piece by piece.

The key is to keep

your hips square.

Hmm?

Again.

Where are you going, Gabby?

Don't do this. Gabby! Gabby.

I know how hard it can be.

For two years, you've trusted

everything I've told you, right?

Now trust this.

The only thing harder than what

you're feeling now is quitting.

It's not working.

What isn't working?

Everything.

You can be the best

in the world.

Did you hear those words?

"Best in the world."

But you have to block out all of the

distractions and believe in yourself.

Stay and work this out,

and you will be an athlete

who inspires nations.

Walk away, and you'll be

sitting on the couch

watching someone else

win your Olympic medal.

You'll regret this

the rest of your life.

Following my dreams was supposed

to lead me to who I really was.

But who I really was, was lost.

Gabrielle, Coach Chow said

you were looking for me,

said you wanted to talk

to me about something.

Uh-uh.

Uh-uh?

You weren't looking for me?

No. Talk.

I can't talk about it.

Is everything okay?

Can we go someplace quiet?

What's going on?

I didn't have the nerve

to tell you, so I wrote it.

The Olympics are exactly 210 days away,

and you want to quit?

Is this a joke?

No, I want to go home.

Gabrielle, is there something going on

here that you're not telling me about?

Then you're gonna have to do better than,

"I want to go home."

Because this is not

making any sense.

I just want to be normal, Ma.

Baby, you weren't

born to be normal.

Everything you've done your

entire life has been exceptional.

No. No.

You are not gonna quit. No.

You have worked too hard for this,

Gabrielle.

We have sacrificed

so much for this.

And now you want to quit?

Exceptional people

don't just quit.

I don't want to be exceptional!

I don't want to go

to the Olympics!

Does Coach Chow know?

No. Can you tell him?

Oh! Oh! Oh!

Gabrielle!

You signed a contract.

What you're doing

is dishonorable.

If you want to quit,

you tell Coach Chow yourself,

and after that, you tell everybody

else whose heart you're gonna break.

And I've told her, look at all the

people that have sacrificed for you,

Sally and Brent,

your brother and sisters,

your entire life,

Miss Carolyn, me.

I know, Mom!

I can get a job and pay you back.

No, Gabrielle,

you cannot pay me back!

Paying me back would be following

through on your life's dream,

and you just want

to throw it all away!

You think there aren't other little

girls out there who miss their families?

She is gifted.

One of the best in the sport.

I know that.

And she knows that, too.

But an Olympic athlete is

more than talent and muscle.

If she doesn't have it in her heart,

it isn't there.

We can't teach it.

You can't force it.

And even Gabby can't

make it any different.

A champion isn't made of muscle.

A champion is made of heart.

We'll give her some

time to figure this out.

If she wants to quit, she will.

Meanwhile, she's been accepted

to the AT&T American Cup.

She's just an alternate,

so the points won't count.

There won't be

any pressure on her.

Stupid.

What did you just say?

Did you just call me stupid?

Yeah, what do you think it's called

when you give up for nothing?

It's not for nothing.

I want to come home.

You're living your dream.

You can't give up now.

I know, but...

No buts, okay?

I mean, athletes don't

whine and complain.

My coach brings me

through hell and back,

and you know what?

I love it.

'Cause it makes me better.

Now, you got to tough it out.

It's the life of an athlete.

John, I want to come home.

I want to be with everyone.

Brie, listen to me.

Are you listening?

Mmm-hmm.

You are with everyone.

I mean, we're right

there with you.

And when you go up there

to get your medals,

we're gonna be right

up there, too.

Can't you see that?

You're winning for all of us.

You didn't think you were doing

it all on your own, did you?

Look, you get that

thing that I sent you?

The thing I'm not allowed to open?

Yeah.

You can open it now.

"Today should always be better

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