Olympic Gold Medalist Gabby Douglas Exits West Des Moines Gym, Leaves Iowa

Two-time gold medal gymnast Gabrielle “Gabby” Douglas has left the West Des Moines gym where she trained for the 2012 London Olympics to live with her family in Los Angeles.

Douglas, the first African-American to win gymnastics’ coveted all-around gold medal, informed the staff at Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute on Monday that she was leaving Iowa, the Des Moines Register reports.

Her coach, Liang Chow, is widely credited with helping the Virginia-raised gymnast perfect the techniques that earned her gold medals in the all-around competition and as a member of the U.S. women’s gymnastics team.

Douglas moved to West Des Moines in February  2011 to train with Chow, who coached Shawn Johnson to one gold medal and three silver medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

“He had a short time frame,” USA Gymnastics President and CEO Steve Penny told the newspaper. “She was somewhat already molded (after moving for Virginia). Chow worked with what she had already developed. He’s smart, and knows how to bring out the strength of an athlete.”

It’s not clear if Douglas will continue to train for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a goal she previously said she was pursuing.

Chow is currently on vacation in his native China, but his wife, co-coach Liwen Chow, said the decision by Douglas to leave Iowa came as a surprise.

“She came over (Monday) and said goodbye to us,” Liwen Chow told the 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.”

Since her historic Olympic debut in London, Douglas has assembled endorsements worth about $10 million over the next four years, the Register said. In addition to deals that include Kellogg’s Corn Flakes and Nike, she also donated some of her personal belongings to the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Douglas’s Olympic performances catapulted her to almost instant celebrity. Among other recognition, Associated Press made her the female athlete of the year; she won the 2013 Teen Choice Award in the female athlete division; she has made dozens of celebrity appearances; and she has written or co-written two books, including the New York Times bestseller, Grace, Gold, and Glory: My Leap of Faith.