Martha Karolyi's 'hardest decision' ever sends Gabby Douglas back to the Olympics

SAN JOSE, Calif. – What once seemed like such a farcical question suddenly became real: Is Gabby Douglas the wrong choice for Rio?

The shock of the U.S. Olympic Trials here this weekend was not the final women’s gymnastics roster, which was mostly as expected. It was how close the defending Olympic champion came to missing the final five completely.

“My whole career, this is the hardest decision I’ve had to make,” national team coordinator Martha Karolyi said.

She went with Douglas, making her the first reigning champion to return to the Summer Games since Nadia Comaneci. Karolyi explained that Douglas has the ability to excel in four apparatuses instead of Ashton Locklear’s two. But the fact that Douglas had to save her case only four years after dazzling the world in London is as stunning as it gets in a world where American dominance is basically foreordained.

Douglas has not been reliable recently. She admitted she lost some of the joy she had for competing and even changed coaches in a move that even caused Karolyi some consternation. This weekend, she fell off the beam twice and at times appeared unhappy.

“When I look at my performances, I’m like, ‘Ooh, I’m lagging behind,’ ” Douglas said. ” ‘Don’t get lazy.’ That’s the one thing I tell myself. Nothing is guaranteed. Nothing is going to be handed to you.”

She seemed to get her own message on Sunday, partially restoring her reputation as someone who performs best when it matters the absolute most. Douglas landed a clutch vault and then shined on the uneven bars, and that may have made Karolyi’s decision final. Still, there was that slip on the beam, along with the general wobbliness of her weekend.

Locklear made things even closer. She outperformed Douglas on the uneven bars, which is a crucial event as Simone Biles and Laurie Hernandez are both outstanding on floor routine and Aly Raisman’s weakest spot is on the bars. Locklear fell off the beam on Friday, yet she put in a solid performance there on Sunday.

She was close to making it and she knew it. “When they came into the room and announced the team and my name wasn’t on it, I was really frustrated,” Locklear said.

Locklear then heard her name as an alternate and her mood brightened drastically, realizing she was going to Rio de Janeiro. But others will wonder if Locklear should have made the top tier even if she herself is thrilled to be a backup.

Douglas said she will use the razor-thin margin at the trials as motivation for the weeks to come.

“Me personally, I feel like I don’t look as sharp as London,” she said. “But that’s going to change. It’s gonna change. Because I’m so determined to get back in the gym and be better than before.”

This is the wild card that may define the entire U.S. team’s fate next month. If something is wrong with Douglas, this weekend will look like an unheeded warning in retrospect. Karolyi is counting on the 2012 Douglas to show up, and that’s never a guarantee for a returning Olympian.

“She’s a different person,” 2008 Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson said. “But if you look at any athlete trying to make a comeback, they’re different.”

Douglas has rare experience. She has not only been on the Olympic stage before, but she also has dominated it. Any former Olympian will tell you how difficult it is to maintain a level of focus and intensity for four years in between Games, and it’s possible Douglas will be sterling again when she arrives in Rio.

The international judges obviously know her worth, and that’s no small factor in a sport determined in part by human measure.

“I know I had a lot more mistakes here, and at P&Gs [the P&G Championships two weeks ago],” she said, “but I will tell you I’m gonna be as sharp and even better than before.”

There’s reason to believe that, and Douglas’ promise will make her one of the most fascinating Olympians in any sport. If she is “better than before,” she could put pressure on Biles, the runaway favorite. If she is worse than she was here, she puts pressure on the entire team.

Although it might be a mistake to trust Douglas, it could be a much larger mistake not to trust her. And that, in the end, is what probably made Karolyi’s decision the right one.