Shawn Machel Johnson sprang to life on a very cold day in
January. Well, actually, she didn’t spring for a little bit.
Shawn was born with an APGAR score of 0. It took a short
while before she got the hang of things, but once she did
get going, she took off and hasn’t slowed down since. Shawn
walked at 9 months without ever taking the time to crawl.
She was doing pull-ups in her playpen and climbing out of
her baby bed long before she was a year old.
At the age of three Shawn tried dance class, although dance
didn’t suit her as it wasn’t nearly physical enough. Out of
desperation, the next attempt to find a release for Shawn’s
energy was a gymnastics class. BINGO.
Shawn enjoyed 2 years at a local gymnastics club. Friends
told her parents about a new gym that opened up close to
home. After visiting only once, Shawn couldn’t wait to get
started at Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance. Shawn started
attending Chow’s within 60 days of the doors opening. They
had yet to develop a pre-team or team, so Shawn got to be in
on the ground floor of their pre-team and then team. Shawn’s
coaches, Liang Qiao (Chow) and Liwen Zhuang (Li) could not
have been a better fit had they been hand picked. Chow and
Li will forever hold a very special place in Shawn’s heart.
Memorable moments in Shawn’s gymnastics career have been
Level 9 balance beam champion, Level 10 Iowa’s Gymnast of
the year, Level 10 balance beam champion and making the
Junior Olympic National team, and qualifying to Junior
International Elite status on her first attempt. She won the
2006 U.S. Junior National All-Around with a score higher
than any of the senior elite competitors that year. In 2007
Shawn entered the senior division and won every competition.
She was the champion at the 2007 Tyson American Cup, won
four gold medals and the All-Around at the 2007 Pan American
Games, was the National Champion at the 2007 Visa National
Championships, and won the All-Around at the World
Championships, making her World Champion her first year in
the Senior Division.
Shawn has had a great year thus far in 2008. She is bound
for Beijing and the 2008 Olympics after coming in first
place at the Olympic Trials in June. In May, Shawn was named
the National Champion for the second year in a row at the
2008 Visa National Championships. She also won the
all-around at a meet in Jesolo, Italy, competing against
gymnasts from Italy, Spain and Poland. Shawn was also
runner-up at the Tyson American Cup, winning the floor, beam
and vault, and coming in second in bars.
She has appeared on numerous TV shows and news programs,
including The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Today Show, and was
ABC's Person of the Week. She was also a presenter at
Frosted Pink, a breast cancer benefit show on television.
She has also been in a number of magazines, including Teen
Vogue and Vanity Fair, where she posed for famed
photographer, Annie Leibovitz. In Iowa, October 17th was
deemed “Shawn Johnson Day” by Governor Chet Culver, and in
early July a bronze statue was dedicated to her at the Iowa
Hall of Pride. Even with all the media attention from around
the world, Shawn stays very grounded and focused on having a
normal life. Shawn has also been nominated for the 2008 Teen
Choice Awards.
Unlike most elite gymnasts who train approximately 40 hours
a week and have private tutors, Shawn trains 20-25 hours a
week and goes to public high school where she is on the “A”
Honor Roll and will be a junior this fall. Shawn, her
parents and coaches think it’s very important for her to
have a life outside of gymnastics and have time for friends,
family, hobbies and school activities. Shawn has a passion
for school and sets very high expectations for herself.
While math is her best subject, English is her favorite.
Shawn enjoys writing and uses it as well as art as a way to
express her creativity.
Shawn lives in West Des Moines, Iowa, USA, with her parents
and her pets; a Golden Retriever and two cats. Shawn’s loves
are family, friends, gymnastics, and animals. Shawn loves
big and lives big, and consequently, Shawn dreams big. And
now that she has made the Olympic team, she gets the chance
to live her dream and compete for her country with her
coach, Chow, who will be a coach for the American Olympic
Team. For Chow, it will be a return to his home country,
where he was a former Chinese National World Team Co-Captain
and the XIV World Cup Master Champion in All-Around in 1990.
Chow holds over 30 International Gold Medals and numerous
National Championships.
SHAWN JOHNSON CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
- 2008 Olympic Team Member
- 2008 Olympic Trials, Philadelphia, 1st place
- 2008 Italy-Spain-Poland-USA, Jesolo, Italy, 1st- All
Around, 1st- Team
- 2008 American Cup, NYC, 2nd- All Around, 1st- FX, BB, VT,
2nd- UB
- 2007 World Championships, Stuttgart, GER, 1st- All Around,
1st - FX, 1st - Team
- 2007 Visa National Championships, San Jose, CA. 1st All
Around, 1st BB, 1st FX, 3rd UB
- 2007 Pan American Championships, 1st - All Around, 1st -
BB, 1st - UB, 2nd FX, and 1st - Team
- 2007 Tyson American Cup, 1st All Around, Jacksonville, FL
- 2007 United States vs. Great Britain International
Competition, 1st All Around, 1st BB, 1st Team, 2nd Vault,
Lisburn, IRE
- 2006 VISA Championships (Junior Division), 1st All Around,
1st Vault, 1st -BB, 1st FX, 2nd UB, St. Paul, MN
Shawn has completed a 2.5-twisting Yurchenko, does a
standing full (back flip with a full twist) on beam, and a
tucked double-double (two flips with two twists) on floor.
Shawn is probably the only athlete in the world to have
three "G" level elements on three events. (In the code of
points, skills are arranged in different levels, "A" skills
being basic skills, "G" skills being the most difficult
elements. No element has been given above a "G" rating in
the Code of Points to date.) On bars, her double twisting
double layout dismount is her "G" element, on beam, it's her
full twisting double tuck dismount, and on floor it's her
tucked double twisting double tumbling pass. On vault she is
one of only three women in the world, the other two being
Jade Barbosa (Brazil) and Cheng Fei (China), to complete a 2
1/2 twisting layout Yurchenko.
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