SAN JOSE — As part of the Fierce Five, Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas already had the respect of gymnastics greats.
By making the U.S. team for the Rio Olympics four years later, they’ve earned the admiration of more. Raisman and Douglas accomplished the increasingly rarer feat in American gymnastics, one many other Olympic greats missed.
“I am just beyond the words to say that I respect them so much,” said Mary Lou Retton, who didn’t try for a second team after winning Olympic gold in 1984. “What they’ve done is incredibly hard.”
That’s for many reasons, not the least of which is the Americans’ depth, the physical demands on a body four years older and increased difficulty from the progression of the sport.