Image via Madame Tussauds


Olympic champion Gabrielle Douglas has added another honor to her growing list of accolades this week, revealing that she will have her own wax figure at Madame Tussauds in San Francisco. Douglas posted pictures of herself with the figurine on Instagram, saying “It looks so real!! Check it out & tell me what you think!” The museum also posted some previews on its Facebook page which give an even better view of the model. Well, based on what we’ve seen so far, we agree that it’s quite lifelike! Douglas is depicted performing a back handspring on the balance beam, a pose which must undoubtedly have presented special challenges for sculptors whose subjects are usually sitting or standing.
 

Interestingly, the wax version of Douglas is not wearing the iconic red leotard from the 2012 Olympic team finals or the purple leotard from the all-around competition where she made history as the first African-American to win the individual all-around title. No, she’s not even wearing the white number from beam finals! Instead, she is sporting the lovely silver, rhinestone-bejeweled leotard that made its one and only Olympic appearance during her performance in the uneven bars final. While we think it’s a great leo and looks as fabulous on her wax doppelganger as it does on the real Gabby Douglas, the choice was a bit of a surprise. It’s also interesting to note that Douglas’s replica is not wearing any ankle supports, a sight that all gymnastics fans grew accustomed to seeing from the Olympic champion during the 2012 Games. But, those minor stylistic details aside, the wax figurine is a perfect representation of Gabby’s memorable performance in London.
 

Douglas’s figure will be unveiled to the public during the grand opening of the new San Francisco location of Madame Tussauds on June 26th. She will be joined by many other notable sports figures including Tiger Woods, Muhammed Ali, and Serena Williams, along with numerous musicians, actors, and historical political leaders. Even President Obama, whom Douglas and the rest of the Fierce Five had the honor of meeting in 2012, will be immortalized in the San Francisco museum. And for now, that’s the whole ball of wax!