Gabby Douglas’ Mom Sold Her Jewelry To Keep Her In Gymnastics

The road to the Olympian's gold medal wins this week was not an easy one for Douglas' family.

By Julianne Hing Aug 02, 2012

Gabby Douglas just won her second gold medal of the 2012 Olympics in the all-around gymnastics competition, making her the first black female to win gold in that competition. But before she became an Olympics hero, her mother Natalie Hawkins had to figure out even how to keep her daughter in the sport. Hawkins told CNN: "After years of persuading me I finally gave in and took her to a trial class. She just never wanted to come out of the gym. She loved it. She would practice all the time. So I saw then the hard work." "I didn’t realize when I got into this sport how expensive it was. Just the commitment over the years, sometimes it felt crushing. I didn’t think I’d be able to keep her in thesport. But then I’d think about it and say: you’ve got to fight. If I had to sell. I sold almost all of my jewelry, if I had to pick up extra shifts at work. Whatever it takes." Watch the rest of the video, and bask for a bit in the glow of the Douglas family’s love for their Olympics star. Congratulations Gabby!