Bronze medalist Aliya Mustafina of Russia, gold medalist Gabrielle Douglas of the United States and silver medalist Victoria Komova of Russia pose after the medal ceremony in the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Individual All-Around final on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 2, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Gabrielle Douglas of the United States celebrates on the podium after winning the gold medal in the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Individual All-Around final on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 2, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Bronze medalist Aliya Mustafina of Russia, gold medalist Gabrielle Douglas of the United States and silver medalist Victoria Komova of Russia pose after the medal ceremony in the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Individual All-Around final on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 2, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Silver medalist Victoria Komova of Russia, gold medalist Gabrielle Douglas of the United States and bronze medalist Aliya Mustafina of Russia pose during the medal ceremony in the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Individual All-Around final on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 2, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Gabrielle Douglas of the United States celebrates on the podium after winning the gold medal in the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Individual All-Around final on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 2, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Gabrielle Douglas of the United States celebrates after winning the gold medal in the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Individual All-Around final on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 2, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Gabrielle Douglas of the United States celebrates winning the gold medal with coach Liang Chow and team coordinator Martha Karolyi after the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Individual All-Around final on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 2, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Gabrielle Douglas of the United States and her coach Liang Chow hold up a finger after Douglas wins the gold medal in the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Individual All-Around final on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 2, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Gabrielle Douglas of the United States hugs Alexandra Raisman after Douglas wins the gold medal in the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Individual All-Around final on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 2, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Gabrielle Douglas of the United States waves to the crowd after Douglas wins the gold medal in the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Individual All-Around final on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 2, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Gabrielle Douglas of the United States reacts after she wins the gold medal in the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Individual All-Around final on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 2, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Gabrielle Douglas of the United States of America competes on the vault in the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Individual All-Around final on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 2, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Gabrielle Douglas of the United States reacts after she competes on the uneven bars in the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Individual All-Around final on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 2, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Gabrielle Douglas of the United States competes on the uneven bars in the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Individual All-Around final on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 2, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Gabrielle Douglas of the United States competes on the balance beam in the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Individual All-Around final on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 2, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Gabrielle Douglas of the United States competes on the balance beam in the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Individual All-Around final on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 2, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Gabrielle Douglas of the United States reacts after he competes on the balance beam in the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Individual All-Around final on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 2, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Gabrielle Douglas of the United States prepares to compete on the balance beam in the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Individual All-Around final on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 2, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Gabrielle Douglas of the United States competes on the balance beam in the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Individual All-Around final on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 2, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Gabrielle Douglas of the United States competes on the balance beam in the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Individual All-Around final on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena on August 2, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
Just as she did in Tuesday night’s team final, Douglas set the tone with the first event, vault. Once again doing the difficult Amanar — a roundoff onto the takeoff board, back handspring onto the table and 2.5 twisting somersaults before landing — Douglas took a small hop to the left and then another, putting her dangerously close to the out-of-bounds line.
She never looked down, but it was clear she knew how close she was, twisting her upper body to the left to absorb the momentum and keep her legs from moving. She stayed in place — and in bounds — and her 15.966 gave her a lead she never relinquished.
Komova made it close on uneven bars, where she looks more like a little hummingbird as she flies between the bars. Her routine is incredibly difficult, yet she does it with such lightness it’s breathtaking. She took a small hop on her dismount, but camouflaged it by immediately thrusting her hands into the air and turning to salute the judges. When her score of 15.966 was announced, she nodded slightly as she zipped her Russian team warm-up all the way up to her chin.
Next came balance beam, where both Komova and Douglas have struggled. Komova’s fall during the team competition at last year’s worlds helped cost Russia any chance of catching the Americans, while Douglas might have won the U.S. title if not for a fall on the second day of competition.
With the stakes higher than they’ve ever been, however, both were clutch. Most of Komova’s tricks were landed with complete confidence, and her sheep jump — where she thrusts her head and arms back while kicking her feet behind her — was absolutely exquisite, the soles of her feet brushing her ponytail.
But Douglas did her one better. She oozed confidence as she whipped off a series of back handsprings, landing as easily and confidently as she had when she was going through her routine on the arena floor. She did a front somersault with such power the thud of her landing echoed through the arena.
She took a small hop forward on her dismount, but it hardly mattered. Her score of 15.5 extended her lead over Komova to more than three-tenths of a point going into the final rotation, floor exercise.
While Douglas’ skills on floor are impressive. The crowd was clapping almost from the opening notes of her techno music, and she got downright sassy on her dance moves, directing playful grins at the judges. Karolyi was so excited she was clapping her hands above her head up in the stands.
Her score of 15.033 meant Komova needed a 15.36 or better to win. She didn’t come close, and Douglas had herself another gold.
“I’m still upset because I could have been gold and I didn’t get it,” said Komova, her silver medal buried in the pocket of her warm-up jacket.
