Off-Topic Salute to an American Winner

Last night American Gabby Douglas (nicknamed “The Flying Squirrel”) earned the Olympic gold in the all around women’s gymnastics final and in doing so rocketed to instant stardom. I was very glad to see her come out on top for another reason aside from seeing all of her hard work and dedication pay off. I don’t follow the sport and until a few days ago I had never heard of this young lady but I saw the end of the competition which decided which girls would get to represent the U.S. in London and she impressed me right then by using her moment in the spotlight to first and foremost give thanks to God. It is natural to cheer for the home team but that made her stock go up a few points in my book. Later, in the midst of the Olympic competitions I was further impressed with her when a reporter asked how she stayed focused and kept her emotions under control in such an intense situation. She answered that she meditated on the Scriptures. Her stock went up even more. She helped in winning the gold for the U.S. in the team competitions but it is the individual all around that is the top of the top and I was extremely impressed again when, after getting her gold medal, she again gave all the credit to God and was thankful for all the blessings He had sent down to her.

Oddly enough, in glancing through the sports pages I saw many Gabby quotes about believing in yourself and working hard and all that stuff but, for some reason, none seemed to mention the fact that she gave all the glory to God after every victory she achieved. Maybe they were hoping no one would notice. Well, I noticed and I’m sure many others did as well and I take my hat off to this young lady for letting her light so shine when the attention of the world was on her. I don’t know anything much about her, but her actions on those occasions are enough for me to think well of her and it seems to me that she has a heart and values as great as her gymnastic talents which are, obviously, phenomenal. I was very glad to see her win, even though my heart (such as it is) really went out to the silver medal winner Victoria Komova of Russia. Not many may believe this but I can be a terrible softy and the sight of that little girl crying got to me. The silver is, of course, a great achievement but she was understandably disappointed at having worked so hard and come so close but did not quite make the top spot. Komova gave a stunning performance (what I saw anyway) and I would have hated to have been one the judges deciding who was best. I wish her all the best, she is a spectacular athlete.

In a similar vein I was crushed and outraged when, due to changes in the rules, the American world champion Jordyn Wieber just missed qualifying for the individual all around. She couldn’t help crying then too and, well, the sight of any girl crying just makes me want to do bodily harm on those responsible. It was good though to see her put the disappointment behind her and give such a spectacular effort to help teammates win the gold in the team competition. And yes, for those keeping track, I do think McKayla Maroney’s vault deserved a perfect score and I hope we see more of her in the future. Who have I left out? Aly Raisman, I would have given her a bronze medal too, they do it in other competitions, and Kyla Ross did awesome too. Of course, to me, even getting up on those contraptions seems impressive. But, anyway, this is the moment of glory for Gabby Douglas, she deserves it, I’ve been told by those on Twitter that she has been “tweeting” out Scripture verses during the games and I just wanted to give her a special salute for being at the top of her particular field and still putting God first in what she does. It is nice to see someone work hard, do it right and come out on top. Congratulations Gabby, you deserve it!