Shawn Johnson (2008 Gymnastics Hopeful)

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

07 Jun 2008 10:19 PM

Welcome to our Focus on the Olympics articles that introduces you to our Olympic athletes and hopefuls that will be competing in Beijing this summer. We've met all the male gymnastic contenders, now it's time to get to know the females beginning with Shawn Johnson.

Meet Shawn Johnson

Shawn attends Valley Southwoods, a public high school in her hometown of West Des Moines, Iowa. The honor roll student has already had three short stories published and enjoys walking animal shelter dogs as part of her school's volunteer program. She enjoys horseback riding, scrapbooking and socializing with her family and friends. Shawn was actually born with an Apgar score of 0. Her coaches, Liang Chow and Liwen Zhuang, are natives of Beijing

Why Root for Her?

Shawn has been on the rise since entering elite competition in 2005. Competing as a junior in 2006, her all-around score in the Visa Championships was the highest score in the meet - including seniors. Since joining the senior national team in 2007, Shawn has won every competition she's entered including the 2007 Tyson American Cup, gold medals in the team, all-around, balance beam and uneven bars at the Pan American Games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil and most recently became U.S. senior national champion, in addition to winning event titles in balance beam and floor exercise.

Performance Record

• 2007 World All-Around Champion
• 2007 U.S. Visa Championships senior all-around, balance beam and floor exercise champion
• 2007 Pan American Games gold medalist in team competition, all-around, balance beam and uneven bars; silver medalist in vault
• 2007 Tyson American Cup Champion
• 2006 U.S. Visa Championships junior all-around, vault, balance beam and floor exercise champion

The U.S. Gymnastics Team trials take place in June 19 to June 22 in Philadelphia, PA.

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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