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Shawn Johnson competes on the balance beam in the 2007 Visa Gymnastics Championship. |
GYMNAST Shawn Johnson was a little bit of a late bloomer; when she was born, she had to be resuscitated because she was essentially dead.
Back then, no one could have predicted that she would become the next great hope for American gymnastics. But she rallied, and now she is training for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
Johnson is the rock star of the upcoming Olympics, the way Michael Phelps was in 2004. She has been interviewed on such shows as "Access Hollywood" and in magazines including Sports Illustrated, and she was even named an "ABC News" Person of the Week in November. All this, and she isn't even a month removed from her 16th birthday.
Johnson was born in Des Moines, Iowa, and was promptly dismissed by her first gymnastics coach as all brawn and no skill. The first coaches to spot her burgeoning talent were Liang Qiao Chow and Liwen Zhuang Li of Chow's Gymnastics and Dance, which had just opened near Des Moines.
In 2005, Johnson qualified as a Junior International Elite on her first attempt. She struggled some at first on the international stage, finishing seventh in the U.S. National Championships. But that only made her train harder. The next year, she came armed with new maneuvers, including a tucked full-in beam dismount and a tucked double-twisting double back-flip in the floor exercises, both of which have been executed only by the very best gymnasts of all time.
In 2007, Johnson entered the senior division, where everything she touched began to turn to gold. After taking the U.S. National Championships, she teamed up with a star-studded cast that included Nastia Liukin and Alicia Sacramone at the 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart, Germany. The U.S. won the team competition, and Johnson, behind a victory in the floor exercises, took the individual title.
She eclipsed that success in the 2007 Pan American Games, taking four gold medals (all-around, team, uneven bars and balance beam) and one silver (floor exercises).
While she sustained her first major injury in 2007, a stress reaction in her right leg, she healed quickly and resumed her training for the 2008 Olympic Games.
Barring any sudden collapses, Johnson should be selected for the Olympic team. The outlook for the U.S. women's team is bright. Liukin, who was born in Moscow, took the gold in the balance-beam competition at the world championships in 2007, and also won two golds at the 2005 worlds.
Sacramone has atoned for falling short of the Olympic team in 2004 by winning seven medals in the last three world championships: 2005 (gold in floor exercises, bronze in vault), 2006 (silver in team and vault) and 2007 (gold in team, silver in floor exercises, bronze in vault).
Many child athletes have to grow up fast, and don't really get the opportunity to have a normal childhood. As I was navigating her Web site, though, I got the impression that Shawn Johnson is very much a typical 16-year-old.
Unlike many of her peers who are homeschooled, Johnson attends Valley Southwoods High School in West Des Moines. She loves shopping and animals, and her favorite subject in school is English. She likes to write, and her favorite author is Sharon Creech, of "Walk Two Moons" fame.
Probably her best characteristic is her winning personality. She performs every routine with a double-wide smile on her face, whether she wins or not. She just plain loves her sport, unlike many stone-faced gymnasts who are all business on the mat.
This summer, Johnson will be one of the easiest athletes to root for as she takes her game onto the international stage.
J. P. Stroman is a student
