Natalie Hawkins
HARD LIFE: Gabby Douglas says mom Natalie Hawkins has struggled financially since her father left them. (
)
LONDON — Olympic sweetheart Gabby Douglas slammed her Air Force dad as a deadbeat yesterday and blamed him for her doting mom’s financial woes.
The gold-medal-winning gymnast said her father, Timothy Douglas, abandoned his family years ago, leaving her mother, Natalie Hawkins, struggling to support her and three older siblings.
“It was really hard for us growing up — my dad had left us, so he wasn’t really in the picture anymore,” Douglas, 16, said yesterday.
“So my mom had to front all these bills. My dad didn’t really pay the child support. He was short [on money]. It was definitely hard on her part, and she had to take care of me and the rest of my siblings.’’
Douglas had said Sunday that even after winning her two gold medals, she still hadn’t spoken to her father, an Air Force staff sergeant who has served in Afghanistan.
The strain and fatigue began to show yesterday when Douglas faltered in the final stages of her routine in the uneven bars event and finished dead last.
It was a disappointing day in an otherwise brilliant Olympics for the 4-foot-11 acrobat who captured two gold medals and became the first African-American to win a gymnastics all-around Olympic gold.
She has a chance for a third gold today when she participates in the beam competition to conclude an Olympic run that has landed her fame and fortune, including a $100,000 deal to appear on a box of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes.
It seemed yesterday’s disjointed performance was also all Douglas had left after this gymnastics marathon.
“Toward the end of the Olympics, you get physically tired and drained. And no matter how much rest you have, your body is tired,” she said. “I made a little mistake, but I’m human . . . I don’t know, you just get to mentally, you’re just so tired.
“I’m going to go into the beam finals [today] and try really hard to end on a good note,” Douglas said.