Bryce Miller

brmiller@dmreg.com

The gymnastics reunion between Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas and coach Liang Chow lasted less than three months.

Chow confirmed that Douglas has left the West Des Moines gym to search for a new coach.

"She's not in the gym anymore," Chow said Wednesday in a telephone interview with The Des Moines Register. "She is searching for a new coach, I guess. We had an understanding, a tryout period. The new goal for the tryout period, try to prepare her to be in decent, good physical shape.

"When the period was over, she had to make a decision — either train here or train somewhere else. As I talked to her, I respect her opinion on her decision."

Douglas, 18, won all-around and team gold at the 2012 Olympics in London. She moved back to Iowa from California to train with the former Olympic women's head coach in April, eight months after initially departing Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute. Douglas was invited to a June camp at the training center for the U.S. Women's National Team at the famed Karolyi Ranch in Texas.

Chow said Douglas left his gym last week. He directed questions about who will coach Douglas and her potential Olympic future to the agency that represents her.

Though her agency could not be reached for comment, Douglas had a brief interview with the Associated Press. She did not explain her decision but said she remained committed qualifying for the U.S. team for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

"I'm committed to Rio," Douglas said. "I'm not going to let anything get in the way of that."

The departure of Douglas from Chow's gym last August sparked questions about whether the two would work together again.

"I think we worked hard together," Chow said. "We achieved our goal. I think Martha (Karolyi, U.S. national team coordinator) was happy at the camp, physically and with her gymnastics skills.

"We made good progress."

Chow currently is coaching four elite gymnasts who are considered Olympic contenders: Norah Flatley, Rachel Gowey, Alexis Vasquez and Victoria Nguyen.

"I've been coaching the sport for a number of years. And I went through many athletes," Chow said. "Some athletes stay with your program for a long, long period of time. Some athletes, they have a different approach as far as coaching style or your philosophies.

"I totally respect their own opinions — they have the right to choose their own coach."

Since 1984, only Shannon Miller, Kerri Strug, Amy Chow and Dominique Dawes have been able to qualify for more than one Olympics in women's gymnastics. Miller and Strug accomplished the feat in 1992 and '96, Chow in '96 and 2000, and Dawes in '92, '96 and 2000.

Former U.S. Olympic coach Bela Karolyi, Martha's husband and one of the most influential figures in the sport, expressed concerns about a potential comeback by Douglas earlier this year.

"It's not easy," Karolyi told the Register shortly before Douglas reunited with Chow in April. "She's young and she has the very, very well-formed build. I think she could go for another team. But I'm not sure it's going to happen. The intensity, the preparation takes time. It's not positive like it was before."

Teaming with Chow again seemed to signal a serious run at an Olympic comeback for Douglas. Splitting with Chow, who led the U.S. team at the 2008 Olympics and coached gold medalist Shawn Johnson, raises new questions.

Chow, when asked if he was surprised about Douglas leaving again, offered support.

"Of course, when you work together day in and day out, you're going to miss her." he said. "I want her next chapter to be a successful one."