Standing on the medal podium on August 2, 2012, Gabrielle Douglas made history in more ways than one.
At that year's summer Olympics in London, 16-year-old Douglas took the world by storm. In a highly competitive and entertaining women's artistic gymnastics competition, Douglas just edged out Russia's Viktoria Komova to become the fourth American woman to win Olympic gold in the individual all-around — joining Mary Lou Retton (1984), Carly Patterson (2004) and Nastia Liukin (2008).
Douglas, who grew up in Virginia Beach, also broke a major barrier, becoming the first woman of color of any nationality to win a gold medal in the event.