WASHINGTON — After injury forced her to miss out on a shot at competing at the Olympics again, gymnast Gabby Douglas has her eyes set on the future and is also learning more about the part genetics has played in her athletic ability.
The three-time Olympic gold medalist is among a group of 17 elite athletes who've teamed up with Ancestry to let customers who take a DNA test see how their traits for athleticism compare to the world-renowned stars.
It's all part of a first-of-its-kind experience celebrating the addition of more than 30 new performance traits on AncestryDNA tests.
For Douglas, it wasn't surprising to find out that she's more likely to be flexible and have naturally strong physical strength. But her DNA also suggests she might find it more difficult to develop good technique and balance — both essential skills when you're talking about an Olympic gymnastics all-around champion.
"I'm not likely to have good balance, but it makes sense because I've always had to work towards balance beam," Douglas explained in an interview. "It was likely that I was competitive, self-disciplined, determined, which does make a lot of sense because I always will push myself to the brink and other girls would be like, 'how are you doing this?,' and I would literally say, 'I think it's DNA,' like I just have it wired in my brain."
When Douglas had to abandon her bid to make the U.S. women's gymnastics team for Paris due to an ankle injury, she declared it may be the end of that "chapter" but not the end of her gymnastics story.
"The next chapter is getting back in the gym and I would love to do a few more World Championships and obviously another Olympics, that's why I originally wanted to do it because I wanted to go to the Olympics one more time, but also to experience more international competitions because they're very fun," Douglas said.
She would be 32 at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. This year, 27-year-old Simone Biles is the oldest female gymnast to compete on the U.S. Olympic team in 72 years.
As for her recovery, the 28-year-old said it's going well and she just has to be patient.
"That's definitely the hard part because I just kind of want to like go, go, go, go, go, but I do have to allow a certain amount of time for my foot to heal and rest."
While reviewing her DNA results, Douglas found out she had a lot of traits in common with six-time Olympic medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee, who competed in heptathlon and long jump. Both were more likely to be self confident, less likely to be a high jumper and less likely to focus easily.
You can check out the limited-time online experience and compare genetic traits with the athletes at Ancestry.com/BringYourDNAGame.
