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Entertainment

Gabby Douglas enjoys celebrity spotlight after gold

by Samantha Crtichell, Associated Press | August 17, 2012 at 12:50 PM
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Olympic champion gymnast Gabby Douglas pretends to talk on the phone while posing for photos on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Katz)

Olympic champion gymnast Gabby Douglas pretends to talk on the phone while posing for photos on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Katz)

U.S. Women's Gymnastics Olympic team gold-medal winner Gabby Douglas poses with team members at the Empire State Building, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012 in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Katz)

U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Olympic team gold-medal winner Gabby Douglas poses with team members at the Empire State Building, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012 in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Katz)

Gabby Douglas, 2012 London Summer Olympics gold medal-winning gymnast, prepares for a news conference after arriving at Norfolk International Airport, Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012, in Norfolk, Va., on her way to visit her hometown of Virginia Beach, Va. (AP Photo/Virginian-Pilot, Ross Taylor)

Gabby Douglas, 2012 London Summer Olympics gold medal-winning gymnast, prepares for a news conference after arriving at Norfolk International Airport, Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012, in Norfolk, Va., on her way to visit her hometown of Virginia Beach, Va. (AP Photo/Virginian-Pilot, Ross Taylor)

Greeted and accompanied by friends and family, 2012 Olympic gymnast and Gold medal winner Gabby Douglas arrives at the Norfolk, Va. Airport on Thursday evening, Aug. 16, 2012, on a visit to hometown of Virginia Beach, Va. (AP Photo/The Virginian-Pilot, Ross Taylor)

Greeted and accompanied by friends and family, 2012 Olympic gymnast and Gold medal winner Gabby Douglas arrives at the Norfolk, Va. Airport on Thursday evening, Aug. 16, 2012, on a visit to hometown of Virginia Beach, Va. (AP Photo/The Virginian-Pilot, Ross Taylor)

Gabby Douglas, left, 2012 London Summer Olympics gold medal-winning gymnast, laughs with her brother, John Douglas, after arriving at Norfolk International Airport, Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012, in Norfolk, Va., on her way to visit her hometown of Virginia Beach, Va. (AP Photo/Virginian-Pilot, Ross Taylor)

Gabby Douglas, left, 2012 London Summer Olympics gold medal-winning gymnast, laughs with her brother, John Douglas, after arriving at Norfolk International Airport, Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012, in Norfolk, Va., on her way to visit her hometown of Virginia Beach, Va. (AP Photo/Virginian-Pilot, Ross Taylor)

Members of the 2012 US Women's Gymnastics Olympic Team, from left, Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Kyla Ross and Jordyn Wieber pose after ceremonially lighting the Empire State Building, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012 in New York. (Photo by Jason DeCrow/Invision/AP)

Members of the 2012 US Women’s Gymnastics Olympic Team, from left, Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Kyla Ross and Jordyn Wieber pose after ceremonially lighting the Empire State Building, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012 in New York. (Photo by Jason DeCrow/Invision/AP)

From left, Kyla Ross, Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, and Jordyn Wieber, members of the United States women's Olympic gymnastics gold medal-winning team, pose for photos on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Katz)

From left, Kyla Ross, Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, and Jordyn Wieber, members of the United States women’s Olympic gymnastics gold medal-winning team, pose for photos on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Alex Katz)

In this photo provided by CBS, from left, Kyla Ross, Jordyn Wieber, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas, members of the United States women's Olympic gymnastics gold medal-winning team, join television show host David Letterman on the set of the “Late Show with David Letterman,” Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/CBS, John Paul Filo)

In this photo provided by CBS, from left, Kyla Ross, Jordyn Wieber, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas, members of the United States women’s Olympic gymnastics gold medal-winning team, join television show host David Letterman on the set of the “Late Show with David Letterman,” Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/CBS, John Paul Filo)

This image released by Starpix shows the gold medal-winning US Women's Gymnastics Team, from left, Kyla Ross, Aly Raisman, McKayla Marone, Jordyn Wieber and Gabby Douglas pose on the observation deck of the Empire State Building, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012 in New York. (AP Photo/Starpix, Kristina Bumphrey)

This image released by Starpix shows the gold medal-winning US Women’s Gymnastics Team, from left, Kyla Ross, Aly Raisman, McKayla Marone, Jordyn Wieber and Gabby Douglas pose on the observation deck of the Empire State Building, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012 in New York. (AP Photo/Starpix, Kristina Bumphrey)

This image released by Starpix shows the gold medal-winning US Women's Gymnastics Team, from left, Kyla Ross, Aly Raisman, McKayla Marone, Jordyn Wieber and Gabby Douglas pose on the observation deck of the Empire State Building, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012 in New York. (AP Photo/Starpix, Kristina Bumphrey)

This image released by Starpix shows the gold medal-winning US Women’s Gymnastics Team, from left, Kyla Ross, Aly Raisman, McKayla Marone, Jordyn Wieber and Gabby Douglas pose on the observation deck of the Empire State Building, Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012 in New York. (AP Photo/Starpix, Kristina Bumphrey)

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NEW YORK (AP) — They’ve been on a whirlwind tour since the Olympics — from “Late Night With David Letterman” to the Empire State Building and the New York Stock Exchange — but gold-medal gymnasts Gabby Douglas and Jordyn Wieber have one more stop to make before they can truly take a breath: the White House.

President Barack Obama made the invitation in a phone call. “We’ll definitely take him up on it,” Douglas said.

The girls say they are trying to get the most out of this post-London euphoria. Long days of interviews, autographs and photo ops haven’t left them jaded. “Were enjoying every step of the way,” said Wieber, who with Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Kyla Ross and Aly Raisman gave the United States its first Olympic team title in women’s gymnastics since 1996.

Douglas also won the women’s all-around individual gymnastics competition.

They insist they’re not tired or homesick, despite going weeks before making their way home late this week. Wieber says she has jammed pretty much everything she owns into four suitcases, including her own pillow, and hasn’t looked back.

“We’ve been having so much fun the past few days,” agreed Douglas, who has Tweeted photos of herself meeting Nicki Minaj, Karmin and Nick Cannon, and also has savored online congratulations from Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift. She shared a couch with first lady Michelle Obama on “Tonight” with Jay Leno.

She is still waiting for her invitation to appear on “The Vampire Diaries,” hands-down her favorite TV show. Wieber? She’d like a little gig on “Teen Wolf.”

Douglas and Wieber are still girls, and they acknowledge not being fully prepared for all the attention and publicity they’ve received over the past few weeks. Douglas is 16, and Wieber 17.

“I don’t think anyone expected this. … I didn’t expect this,” said Wieber, of DeWitt, Mich.

Instead of making back-to-school plans for the fall, they’re gearing up for the 40-city Kellogg’s Tour of Gymnastics Champions.

“Not many 17-year-old girls get to do this, so I don’t feel like were missing much,” Wieber said.

Douglas, who lives and is home schooled in Des Moines, Iowa, to be near her coaches most of the time, would just like to have time to do a little light gymnastics training in the interim before the tour — and maybe try a CrossFit conditioning workout that emphasizes endurance and cardio. “We all want to stay in shape,” she said.

On Thursday, they were doing their latest round with journalists at Manhattan’s swanky Surrey Hotel off Madison Avenue. There were publicists, makeup artists, photographers and family members all over the penthouse suite as Douglas and Wieber talked up the products they use as P&G Beauty spokeswomen. (Pantene Pro-V shampoo and conditioner for Douglas; Olay facial cleansing wipes for Wieber.)

During the Olympics, they did their own hair and makeup for all the competitions — and those millions of photos. As a team, sometimes they’d critique themselves, Douglas said, deciding the next day to lighten up on the eyeliner or wear more blush. But they didn’t pay much attention to any critics of their appearance even as Douglas’ slicked back half pony-tail became the talk of the Olympics.

Douglas, who on Thursday wore her hair loose and flowy, said while she loved the transformation the pros give to their look, she, Wieber and their teammates decided they sort of like it better when they do it themselves.

“Sometimes,” Douglas said, “it just looks a little bit more like us.”

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.

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Filed in: Entertainment | Related Topics: Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, Gabrielle Douglas, Gymnastics, Jordyn Wieber, Kyla Ross, Late Night with David Letterman, London, London Olympics, McKayla Maroney, New York City, New York Stock Exchange, Olympics 2012
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