Friday, June 7, 2013

Gabby Douglas Gets Olympics Love From Beyonce, Lil Wayne, More

Gold-medal-winning gymnast sets the Internet on fire after landmark victory in London.
By Jocelyn Vena, with additional reporting by Cory Midgarden

<P>It's been an impressive run for Team U.S.A. over in London. As the <a href="/news/articles/1691023/olympics-carly-rae-jepsen-austin-mahone.jhtml">Summer Olympics</a> continue to captivate the world, event after event, it was a girl who has been nicknamed "The Flying Squirrel" who won not only the gold in the women's gymnastics all-around final competition on Thursday, but also the <i>hearts</i> of some of the biggest stars in entertainment.</P><P>What makes Gabby Douglas' win even more impressive is that the 16-year-old is the first African-American woman to take home the honor, a feat that has earned her major kudos from some major players in the music world and beyond. Kelly Rowland spoke to MTV News earlier this week, and she showed love to the soon-to-be gold medalist, proudly exclaiming, "Gymnastics! Gabby Douglas! She's awesome!"</P><P></p><div class="player-placeholder right" title="Kelly Rowland Is A Fan Of Gabby Douglas" id="vid:822664" width="415" height="255"></div><p></P><P>But Kelly's not the only member of Destiny's Child enamored with the headline-making teen. Beyonce <a href="http://www.beyonce.com/news/gabby-douglas" target="_blank">blogged</a> about Douglas' win, sharing that she feels inspired by the teen's impressive Olympics run. "A huge congratulations to 16 year old Olympic Gold Medalist Gabby Douglas - WOW - what a thrill to watch you take this Gold! - enjoy this moment, its yours. Thank you for inspiring all of us! Love, B."</P><P>They're hardly the only A-listers showing the tiny teen adoration. Lil Wayne <a href="https://twitter.com/LilTunechi" target="_blank">tweeted</a>, "Glad i lived to see what Gabby Douglas did in the Olympics. Icon." His Young Money pal Nicki Minaj also sent her some viral love. "Kisses to Gabby what an amazing little firecracker. #USA #Olympics," she <a href="https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ/status/231080554223767552" target="_blank">wrote</a>.</P><P>In fact, after Gabby <a href="https://twitter.com/gabrielledoug/status/231268869027790848" target="_blank">responded</a> to Weezy's tweet with "WOW!!!! Im speechless Thank you SOO MUCH!!," Minaj teased back, "Oh wow, I tweeted about #Gabby earlier but she responds to@LilTunechi and not me? U know what? Ima fight u. I've had it!!!"</P><P>Other Twitter love came from a myriad of entertainers, including Oprah Winfrey, Estelle, Ian Somerhalder, Ciara, Gabrielle Union, Timbaland, Elizabeth Banks and athletes like fellow <a href="http://newsroom.mtv.com/2012/07/31/michael-phelps-wins-19th-olympic-medal-most-decorated-olympian-ever/">gold-medal winner Michael Phelps</a> and Kristi Yamaguchi.</P><P>Shortly after the historic victory, it was <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/olympics-2012-gabby-douglas-gold-medal-corn-flakes-358162" target="_blank">announced</a> that she would appear on the front of the Kellogg's Corn Flakes box; a mock-up was released in the wake of the win.</P><P>"People have asked if I felt like I was on fire here in London, but I just feel normal, the same as I do every day in practice. The difference has been that I was ready to seize the moment, to focus and to trust in what I can do," Douglas wrote on her ESPN <a href="http://espn.go.com/espnw/blog/post/1163/the-biggest-night-my-life" target="_blank">blog</a> about her landmark victory.</P><P>"You say you want to do it and you dream about it every day, but then when it happens, it's hard to believe it really has. Tonight, when the U.S. flag was raised and the national anthem played, there were so many camera flashes going off I felt like I was at a concert. And the crazy thing was, they were all taking pictures of me."</P><P></p><div class="player-placeholder right" title="Celebs: What Sport Would You Play In The Olympics?" id="vid:821567" width="415" height="255"></div><p></P><P><i>Share your thoughts on your fave Summer Olympics stars in the comments below!</i></P>

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