Listen Live
97.9 The Beat Featured Video
CLOSE

Gabby Douglas is the picture of grace, power, and confidence in her Teen Vogue cover.

The Olympic gold medalist is leaping off the front of Teen Vogue’s August issue, where she reveals she didn’t always believe in her own phenomenal talent.

“It took a long time for me to see my own potential,” Gabby shared. “Finally something clicked and I knew I could be one of the best. It was a game changer. Now I’m like, ‘I am going for this. I’m going for it all.’”

Last weekend Gabby, 20, came under fire for not smiling during her performance at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships, but that could be because she didn’t perform up to her own expectations. Not that she even needs an excuse for having a straight face, of course.

Gabby placed fourth in the competition, behind Simone Biles, according to People.com.

“Obviously I didn’t do my best, but I think finishing fourth is definitely going to motivate me,” she told reporters after her routine.

“I gave a lot away, and I had a few mistakes,” she explained, adding that she’ll use it as motivation to do better next time. “Overall, I’m just going to move forward heading into Olympic trials and really focus on being consistent and strong, and really work hard in the gym.”

For the magazine’s double issue, they didn’t just put one Black woman on one of the covers, but Simone also served up major face and tons of poise on the other August cover of Teen Vogue’s Body Beautiful issue.

Now that’s #BlackGirlMagic.

During her photo shoot, Simone, 19, said she plans to take some very important personal lessons with her to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.

“To go out there and prove what I can do has taught me a lot about who I am,” she told Teen Vogue. “We can push ourselves further. We always have more to give.”

SOURCE: Teen VoguePeople | PHOTO CREDIT: Instagram, Getty

RELATED STORIES:

#BlackGirlMagic: Gabby Douglas Brings Olympic Style To Her New Emoji App

#BlackGirlMagic: Gymnast Simone Biles Becomes First Woman To Win 4 Consecutive National Championships In 42 Years

Really Tho? Olympic Fencer Asked To Take Off Hijab At SXSW

Gabby Douglas Covers Teen Vogue’s Body Beautiful Issue  was originally published on hellobeautiful.com