Douglas' win inspires not only a nation, but the world as well

When 16-year-old African-American gymnast Gabby Douglas stunned the world with her extraordinary all-around performance in the Northern Greenwich Arena last Thursday afternoon, I was using my long-distance lens to photograph every move.

I noticed a middle-aged Chinese person followed her when the London Olympics gold medalist joined the players rotating from one sport to another. My first guess was the man was her coach.

However, when another Chinese woman coach walked in front of my lens, my colleague next to me in the middle of the magnificent stadium started to search online using his iPhone.

The Chinese-American man was Liang Chow, a Beijing native born in 1968. Chow coaches Douglas, who's known as "the flying squirrel".

With Douglas holding the lead from start to finish during the two-hour competition, Chow relaxed, smiled and encouraged.

Several friends had prepared Chinese flags but didn't get the chance to wave them, as China's gymnastics teams took fifth and six places.

We were sitting next to a group of Americans, who were excitingly cheering for Douglas, shouting: "U-S-A! U-S-A!" We politely waved to them and threw up our thumbs as Douglas dazzled.

I pointed out to a friend that this was a competition in which an African-American won a gold for the US with coaching from a Beijing native.

When I later talked with former BBC presenter Alex Kirby and his son, Thomas Kirby, Thomas jokingly said the gold doesn't belong to the US but rather to the world.

That wasn't exactly what I meant. I admire the US' gravity, which enables it to pull in talent from around the world.

I was surprised by the media attention Douglas received. Friday's USA Today featured her photo on the front page and had a whole inside page dedicated to her as a pioneer who made history as the first black gymnast to win gold in the individual all-around.

Douglas' quote in the newspaper took on an almost presidential tone: "I hope that I inspire people. I want to inspire people. My mother said you can inspire a nation."

The character of the US media coverage makes sense, considering the country values heroism, individualism and the American dream.

But there has been little coverage of Chow.

USA Today showed Chow posing with Douglas in a photo but never mentioned him otherwise. A Web search showed coverage of the coach is minimal.

This perhaps demonstrates a cultural difference. In China, your teacher is traditionally considered more important than your parents. And the story of the coach behind the victory is surely worth telling.

Fortunately, I met a retired American gymnast on the boat to where I'm staying in London, who said she could put me in touch with Chow.

I've got my fingers crossed I can get the interview.

Contact the writer at fujing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 08/06/2012 page11)