Gabby Douglas, who was anticipated to return to competitive gymnastics on Saturday, February 24, at the Winter Cup, has announced her withdrawal from the event due to a positive COVID test.
"I was so excited to get back out on the competition floor, but unfortunately, I just tested positive for COVID... I'm crushed but I'll see you guys soon!," Douglas stated in an Instagram post on February 22.
Scheduled to compete in three of the four events on Saturday—vault, balance beam, and floor exercise—Gabby Douglas would have encountered reigning Olympic all-around champion Sunisa Lee in senior competition for the first time. Lee, who has been grappling with a kidney-related illness for the past year, remains registered for the event in Louisville, Kentucky, and intends to participate in uneven bars and beam.
Douglas announced her comeback to competitive gymnastics at the Winter Cup on "Hallie Jackson NOW" earlier this month.
"I didn't want to end this sport how I did in 2016. I wanted to take a step back and work on my mental state," she shared in the interview. "I love gymnastics and love pushing myself. ... I never wanted to walk away on a bad day."
Since the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where she contributed to the U.S. women's team's second consecutive gold medal, Douglas has not competed. Her participation in Rio earned her a third Olympic gold medal after securing two golds at the 2012 Olympics in London: team gold and all-around gold. By winning the all-around title, Douglas became the first Black gymnast to achieve Olympic all-around gold.
Despite not making an official retirement announcement after the Rio Olympics, Douglas did not pursue a comeback for the Tokyo games. At 28, she would have been the oldest gymnast in the Winter Cup competition.
If selected for the Paris Olympic team, Douglas will be the first American woman since Dominique Dawes to represent her country in three Olympic games. Her former teammate from the 2016 Olympics, Simone Biles, is also aiming for her third Olympic appearance.
The next significant domestic competition on the path to Paris qualification is the Core Hydration Classic, slated to take place in Hartford, Connecticut, on May 17 and 18.
The women's and men's Olympic teams will be finalized at the Olympic Trials this summer, scheduled for the end of June in Minneapolis. The gymnasts competing at the Olympic Trials will be determined four weeks earlier at the U.S. Championships in Fort Worth, Texas.