Gabby Douglas Fails to Medal in 2012 Olympic Women's Gymnastics Uneven Bars

Despite already having two gold medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Team USA star gymnast Gabby Douglas failed at her attempt to take home another medal on the uneven bars Monday, finishing in eighth place with a score of 14.9.

While the young sensation can look forward to her next event—the women’s balance beam on August 7—the loss on the uneven bars is the first real disappointment she has felt at these Games.

Douglas won the gold medal with the United States in the team portion of the gymnastic events, and she also became the first African-American woman to ever win the individual all-around gold medal.

While a third gold medal would have been great, two is nothing to bat an eye at.

Women's Uneven Bars Final—Full Results

Place	Name	Nation	Score
1	Aliya Mustafina	Russia	16.133
2	He Kexin	China	15.933
3	Beth Tweddle	Great Britain	15.916
4	Yao Jinnan	China	15.766
5	Viktoria Komova	Russia	15.666
6	Elisabeth Seitz	Germany	15.266
7	Koko Tsurumi	Japan	14.966
8	Gabby Douglas	USA	14.9

What It Means

With uneven bars aces like China’s He Kexin, Russia’s Viktoria Komova and hometown hero and Great Britain’s own Beth Tweddle, the fact that Douglas did not medal is not the end of the world.

There were questions about Gabby’s focus because of her new celebrity status, but her performance was fine. It just wasn’t good enough to steal a medal in one of the deepest events of the Olympics.

Fans can’t forget that Gabby barely qualified for this final, finishing in sixth and giving Team USA its only chance at this event. As the old adage goes, you can’t win them all.

What’s Next?

In the short term, Gabby must shake this tough loss off and gather herself for Tuesday’s balance beam competition. Douglas had a solid performance on the beam earlier in the Olympics, and she may have a chance to steal a medal in that event.

As for her long-term projection, the young Team USA star has proven that she has what it takes to be a face of gymnastics and empower little girls of all races to follow their dream. After the London Games, expect to be over-saturated with Douglas everywhere you turn.

The Flying Squirrel is a national star.

Check back for more on the 2012 Summer Olympics as it comes, and don’t miss Bleacher Report’s Olympics page to get your fill of the best athletes the world has to offer.

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