Experience is overrated.
Sixteen-year-olds Gabrielle Douglas and Jordyn Wieber aren’t the only members of the Team USA women’s gymnastics squad who can’t vote—McKayla Maroney is 16 as well, and Kyla Ross is 15—but they're perhaps the nation’s best shot at bringing back gold from the 2012 Summer Olympics gymnastics competitions in London.
Shawn Johnson did it in 2008 as a 16-year-old, but Douglas and Wieber’s ability to equal her success is easier said than done.
Each competitor expressed emotion upon qualifying for the Olympics.
Mark Emmert of the Indianapolis Star reported that Douglas predicted before the team was announced, "I’m just going to, like, cry. I’m going to be like, ‘Finally, my hard work has paid off.’ I was the underdog before and now I’m starting to rise up. You know, God has a plan for me and I’m going to follow in his footsteps and just rejoice and be happy."
Wieber sang the same tune.
Jo-Ann Barnas of the Detroit Free Press reported that she said after making the team, "It’s all happiness. It’s an amazing feeling. I’ve been imagining this feeling for a long time. And I didn’t know I was going to cry so much. I’m just really happy to be part of this team."
Hopefully those aren’t the last tears of joy that they cry this summer.
Douglas and Wieber were both part of the U.S. Team that took gold in the team all-around competition at the 2011 World Artistic Gymnastic Championships. Individually, Wieber brought home the all-around gold as well as the balance beam bronze. While Douglas failed to win another medal, she did have great success at the Pacific Rim and Visa Championships earlier this year.
In Beijing, Shawn Johnson won gold on the balance beam and silver for the team all-around, individual all-around and floor. Out of Team USA’s two brightest stars, Wieber has the best odds to equal Johnson’s success, but expect both to help bring medals back to the U.S.
By on July 2, 2012
David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1244001-olympic-gymnastics-team-is-gabby-douglas-or-jordyn-wieber-next-shawn-johnson
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