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Three-time Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas competes for first time since 2016
Three-time Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas is officially back. Whether the gymnastics star’s return to the sport carries all the way to the Paris Olympics remains to be seen.
Douglas, who became the first Black woman to win the Olympic all-around title when she triumphed in London in 2012, competed for the first time in eight years on Saturday at the American Classic in Katy, Texas.
The 28-year-old looked rusty in spots and promising in others while posting a score of 50.65 in the all-around. Douglas qualified in multiple events for the U.S. Championships in Fort Worth, Texas, next month. She will get another chance to qualify for the all-around competition at nationals when she takes the floor at the U.S. Classic in Hartford, Connecticut, on May 18.
Douglas last competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she helped the Americans claim a second straight gold in the team competition. She took an extended break from the sport but never officially retired. The itch to come back returned while watching the 2022 U.S. Championships, and she’s spent the better part of the last two years training in the Dallas area with an eye toward trying to make the five-woman U.S. team that will be heavily favored to win gold in Paris this summer.
Her comeback, however, has been shrouded in mystery. She was supposed to compete at Winter Cup in February, but she pulled out of the competition just days before after testing positive for COVID-19. She has limited press exposure, and unlike 2020 Olympic gold medalist Sunisa Lee and Jade Carey — both of whom competed at American Classic — she opted not to participate in podium training on Friday.
Douglas walked out onto the floor about an hour before competition and showed flashes of what turned her into a star in London. Her double-twisting Yurchenko on vault had plenty of amplitude and on bars — her best event — she had the pieces of a routine that would certainly be competitive at the elite level.
The challenge will be finding a way to put all the pieces together consistently.
Douglas came off bars twice and her floor routine lacked the crispness and endurance to stack up with what will be required for anyone hoping to make a serious bid for the Olympic team.
There is time for Douglas, but not much. The U.S. Classic is in three weeks. The U.S. Championships are in five and the Olympic Trials await in Minneapolis in late June.
Carey, who won gold on floor exercise in Tokyo, captured the all-around with a score of 55.000 while also recording the top scores on vault and floor. Lee, who has dealt with kidney-related health issues the last two years, put together a dazzling bars routine to win easily with a score of 15.200.
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Hyundai, Kia recall more than 208,000 electric vehicles over power loss issue
Hyundai and Kia are recalling more than 208,000 electric vehicles to fix a problem that can cause the loss of drive power, increasing the risk of a crash.
The recall covers more than 145,000 Hyundai and Genesis including some IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 6 EVs along with Genesis GV60, Genesis GV70 and Genesis G80 models.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said the vehicles’ transistors in a charging control unit may get damaged and stop charging the 12-volt battery, “which can result in a loss of drive power.”
In the Kia recall, nearly 63,000 EV6 vehicles from 2022 through 2024 are impacted.
Car dealers will inspect and replace the control unit and a fuse if needed, as well as update software. Owners whose vehicles were recalled earlier this year to fix the same problem will have to visit their dealer again.
Owners will be notified by letter in December and January.
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