Aug 6, 2012; London, United Kingdom; Gabrielle Douglas (USA) competes in the women's gymnastics uneven bars final during the London 2012 Olympic Games at North Greenwich Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
LONDON - Gabby Douglas finally lost her focus.
With a key wobble and a step on her landing, the gymnastics all-around gold medalist finished last among eight contestants in the individual uneven bars at the London Olympics on Monday.
Aliya Mustafina of Russia won with a 16.1. Kexin He of China was second and home country favorite Elizabeth Tweddle won bronze.
Douglas was the last competitor to go, and a score higher than 15.916 would have knocked the Brit out of a medal. Instead, Douglas had her worst routine in four sessions here, scoring 14.9.
The uneven bars are Douglas' signature event and the one that inspired her nickname, the "Flying Squirrel." National team coordinator Marta Karolyi came up with the nickname because she flies from bar to bar, soaring higher with every release move.
What has separaed Douglas from the rest of the world? "The quality of her swings, not many kids swing as beautifully as she," says her coach Liang Chow. "The preciseness, the technique in her routines and the high flight element, the grace, the swinging, the power. It's all showing in her routine. It makes her a very special bar worker, one of the best."
Still, others have outperformed Douglas on the bars in London even before Monday. The Russian duo of Victoria Komova and Mustafina had better scores in the individual all-around final. Tweddle also had a better score in the team final.
With all the attention Douglas has received following her historic all-around win on Thursday, the question remained: Would the 16-year-old be focused entering Monday's uneven bars final? Karolyi said she no longer doubts Douglas' ability to concentrate on the goal at hand.
"Physically she was prepared, we all knew, but a lot of people questioned her ability to focus and this quality improved a lot for five months, from month to month. Right now she's able to focus 100% on her routine on her job," Karolyi said after Douglas became the first African-American woman to win the all-around gold, two days after the U.S. won the team gold.
Douglas has a chance to add another medal Tuesday when she competes in the beam final, her last event of these Olympics.
Kelly Whiteside, USA TODAY