Defending your all-around title is not the done thing in Olympic artistic gymnastics, but reigning champion Gabby Douglas heads to Rio de Janeiro feeling "stronger" than four years ago.

Douglas, then aged 16, claimed two gold medals at London 2012, triumphing in the team all-around as well as individually.

But the discipline's roll of honour, thanks largely to the notoriously limited shelf life of top-level gymnasts, does not boast many multiple winners.

Not since Czechoslovakia's Vera Caslavska won back-to-back golds in 1964 and 1968 has the women's individual all-around crown been successfully defended.

Douglas will arrive in Rio de Janeiro as one of the biggest stars in women's gymnastics, and the American - dubbed 'The Flying Squirrel' - is hopeful of performing even better this time around.

"For me, I guess I didn't really feel like I reached my full potential yet," she told Omnisport.

"I desired to do bigger gymnastics than I did in 2012, so I guess it's just I want to reach the maximum.

"I definitely feel stronger this time, and more efficient.

"I feel like I can communicate with my coaches a bit more than I did last time. And my mind, my mind has definitely improved over the years.

"I do set goals for myself and I sometimes daydream about Rio and the competition. For me, I definitely want to make another Olympics, back to back, and I want to go back and defend my title and just grab as many medals as I can - gold medals!"

Douglas' success in London propelled her to stardom and the added attention in the build-up to Rio has provided the 20-year-old with an extra element to deal with in her preparations.

"It’s so different," she added. "One of the things that's different is just balancing training and opportunities and endorsement obligations on the side.

"[Going from] everyone not knowing who I was to everybody knowing who I am and becoming a household name - it's been a whirlwind."

The United States have been dominant in the individual all-around since 2004, and Douglas revealed Carly Patterson - the woman who kicked off the American monopoly - was an inspiration to her as a youngster.

"When I was about nine years old I was watching the 2004 Olympic Games and there was a gymnast, Carly Patterson, and she was doing a giant on the bars and I was just learning that skill and I was just like, 'I want to go there and do what she's doing'," she explained.

Douglas should also be confident of success in the team all-around event, with the US having won five of the last seven world titles on offer.

The Virginia-born gymnast was part of the team for two of those triumphs - in 2011 and 2015 - but their victory in 2012 represented a first for the country at the Olympics since they hosted the Games in 1996.