In the nick of time, Gabby Douglas lands at U.S. Classic, joining Simone Biles, Suni Lee

London 2012 Olympic all-around champion Gabby Douglas was all smiles Friday (17 May), holding court with a gaggle of reporters after wrapping up a podium training session ahead of Saturday’s U.S. Classic competition in Hartford, Connecticut.

It’s to be a star-studded affair with gymnastics who’s who lining up including Douglas, Simone Biles and Suni Lee, the last three women to claim the Olympic all-around title.

The trio impressed during the official practice session Friday morning with Biles adding back several big elements to her competitive program not seen since the Tokyo Games, including a triple-double on the floor exercise and a double-double dismount off the uneven bars.

Lee trained on all four events, opening up the possibility that she will compete in the all-around for the first time since a 15-month battle with kidney-related health concerns ended her sophomore campaign for Auburn University early.

Two-and-a-half weeks removed from her first competition since the Rio Games, Douglas looked to have made improvements from her first outing and showed elements like a double layout on the floor exercise and standing full on the balance beam that she did not at last month’s American Classic.

But for Douglas, getting here – both to Hartford and this moment of her career – hasn’t been easy.

Late Thursday, Douglas took to social media after dangerous storms across the southern U.S. stranded her.

“Flight got cancelled and now stuck in Dallas,” she wrote in an Instagram story post. “Help!!!”

Enter a private jet.

“Oh, my goodness. It was a whole thing. [My flight] got pushed from 7 to 9 to 11 to cancelled,” she explained. “We go to the desk and she’s like, ‘Well, there’s nothing until Saturday like noon.’ I was like, ‘I’m going to miss the podium.’

“My mom called my agent, and he was like, ‘Hey, like, I know someone with a private jet,” she concluded.

Douglas arrived in time, landing around 6 a.m. after just two hours of sleep.