Today, Gabby Douglas, America’s sweetheart of the London
Olympics, competes for the final time in these games. The
“Flying Squirrel,” as she is known for her aerial abilities,
hopes to add a medal in the individual balance beam final to go
with the pair of gold medals she already earned in the
individual and team all-around competitions. Impressively, she
is the first American gymnast to win gold in both the individual
all-around and team competitions at the same Olympics. Perhaps
more remarkably, she is the first black person ever to win the
individual all-around gymnastics title in the Olympics. Sadly,
awkward attempts at political correctness actually have
understated the magnitude of Douglas’ achievement. After she
captured gold in gymnastics’ highest prize, the individual all-
around, NBC’s Bob Costas announced that Douglas was, “the first
African-American to win the women’s all-around in gymnastics.”
NBC’s talking hairdo was not incorrect — Douglas is the first
African-American to win the women’s all-aro