Olympic all-around champion Gabby Douglas said goodbye to Liang Chow‘s gym in West Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday.
“She came over (Monday) and said goodbye to us,” Chow’s wife, Liwen Zhuang, told the Des Moines Register. “I didn’t ask her (the reasons). I did talk to her. She was a little upset. I guess that’s a family decision for her.”
Liwen said Douglas’ family moved to Los Angeles, and Douglas is joining them there, according to the newspaper. She said she was caught by surprise and that “it’s kind of awkward.”
Gabby Douglas has left Liang Chow's gym in Iowa to join her family in California. Happened earlier this week. Gabby and Chow on "good terms"
— Will Graves (@WillGravesAP) August 21, 2013
Douglas, a Virginia native, had lived and trained in Iowa since age 14 in 2010 at Chow’s gym. Under Chow’s training, she made the U.S. team for the 2011 World Championships at age 15, and won the 2012 U.S. Olympic trials all-around at age 16.
Douglas starred on the U.S. gold-medal winning team at the London Olympics and won all-around gold two days later. She took time off after the Games but returned to training at Chow’s gym in May and was expected to return to competition next year with an eye on trying to make the 2016 U.S. Olympic team.
No female gymnast has made back-to-back U.S. Olympic teams since 2000.
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