Gabby Douglas, the 2012 Olympic all-around gymnastics champion, will return to competition for the first time in nearly eight years at the Winter Cup in Louisville, Kentucky, on Feb. 24.
The 28-year-old Douglas, who made the announcement on NBC News NOW on Tuesday, was a teenager when she competed in London and became the first Black woman to win the Olympic title. She hasn’t competed since helping the U.S. win team gold at the 2016 Olympics.
“I never announced a retirement,” Douglas told NBC. “I didn’t want to end this sport like I did in 2016. I wanted to take a step back and work on myself and my mental state.”
Douglas joins a crowded and decorated field hoping to make the five-woman Olympic squad, including Olympic champions Simone Biles (2016) and Sunisa Lee (2020). Biles returned to competition last summer after a two-year break and won her record sixth world all-around title last fall.
Douglas said she is “definitely” aiming for Paris but added she is taking things one day at a time.