Gabby Douglas' mother 'filed for bankruptcy months before Olympics after years of struggling to pay for daughter's training'
Just months before Gabby Douglas triumphed at the London Games – and paved the way to a potential $10 million windfall from commercial deals  - her mother allegedly filed for bankruptcy. 

Natalie Hawkins filed for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, according to documents submitted earlier this year in Virginia, reported TMZ.

The documents show that Hawkins, who has previously spoken out about gymnastics being an expensive sport, has debt totalling $79,754.14.

Struggles: Natalie Hawkins, the mother of US gymnast Gabrielle Douglas, filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy this year

The documents state that Hawkins has assets totalling $163,706.10 and show she owes Capital One, Sprint, and T-Mobile more than $6,000. Her creditors also include an Orthodontist in Iowa, where Gabby trained aged 14, and a student loan of $4,350.23.

 

Hawkins, who raised her four children largely on her own and is in the middle of divorcing her soldier husband, started paying off her debt in February with monthly installments of $408. 

However, after her  16-year-old daughter’s stunning performance to secure two gold medals last week, the family’s financial troubles will quickly disappear. 

Going for gold: Gabby Douglas gave a stunning performance to win her gold medal last week. The success comes after her mother struggled to pay for her training and racked up debts of almost $78,000

‘The Flying Squirrel’ is already sponsored by consumer goods firm P&G, who have released a video featuring Hawkins discussing her early success, and her commercial deals will continue to stack up.

The gymnast has a healthy, wholesome and all-American image which would be attractive to plenty of companies - and which could earn her $9-10million over the next four years, according to marketing expert Dan Migala.

The success will be particularly sweet for the family who struggled to pay for Gabby’s training. 

'Gymnastics is an expensive sport,' Ms Hawkins said. With Gabby's father Staff Sgt Timothy Douglas serving in the U.S. army abroad, the family applied for military scholarships to help fund Gabby's training. 

In 2006, she received a $500 grant from Our Military Kids, a non-profit that helps fund children's activities while their parents are overseas. That funding paid for her to attend a gymnastics camp in Texas with renowned coaches Bela and Marta Karolyi - who stayed by Gabby's side and helped her win the gold in London.

'In the grand scheme of things, $500 may not seem like that much money, but it made the difference between keeping Gabby at home and sending her to a camp that would play a part in molding her into the Olympic gymnast she is today,' Hawkins said.

Triumph: Gabby's commercial deals will continue to stack up after her Olympic success sent her flying into the hearts of the nation  

After that camp, Gabby told her mum that she wanted to move from their home in Virginia Beach, Va., to train with Chow, who coached Shawn Johnson in 2008.

Hawkins said absolutely not; there was no way she was allowing the youngest of her four children to move halfway across the country at 14.

But Gabby's two older sisters lobbied on her behalf, giving their mother a list of reasons why Gabby should be allowed to go.

Hawkins finally relented, but not without many second thoughts, including: ‘That I was crazy. I must have lost my marbles. But she wanted this more than anything.