Shawn Johnson is a gymnast known for her Olympic debut at the 2008 Olympics held in Beijing, China. Johnson earned a gold medal in the balance beam competition as well as three silvers in the floor, individual all-around, and team competitions. What many people don’t know is the success Johnson had before her Olympic debut and the hard work and dedication that helped her achieve her goals.
Shawn Johnson was enrolled in gymnastics at the age of three as a way for her to burn off energy. She attended Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West Des Moines, Iowa. By the time she was just seven years old, her competitive gymnastics career had already began. She started to train up to twenty five hours a week, Monday through Saturday. Even though her lengthy …show more content…
At the age of fourteen, Shawn Johnson competed at her first international competition in Charleroi, Belgium. She was awarded the gold on floor, vault, and the all-around. After returning home from her first international competition, Johnson was greeted with lots of publicity and fame. She disregarded all the reporters who were vying for an interview with her and instead went directly back to Chow’s Gymnastics Academy to begin training for the upcoming international competitions. Although Johnson came out on top at the last competition, she knew she had to keep training and improve if she wanted to make the next Olympic team. Johnson continued her rigorous practices, learning new skills such as a Jaeger on bars, a full-in back out dismount on the beam, and a double-twisting double back on the floor exercise. All of these skills were top-difficulty skills, with very few people in the world completing them. At the age of fourteen, Johnson was now competing internationally as a junior elite, competing high difficulty skills and earning scores higher than any other senior elite competitor (“Famous People Born
Shawn Johnson was enrolled in gymnastics at the age of three as a way for her to burn off energy. She attended Chow’s Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West Des Moines, Iowa. By the time she was just seven years old, her competitive gymnastics career had already began. She started to train up to twenty five hours a week, Monday through Saturday. Even though her lengthy …show more content…
At the age of fourteen, Shawn Johnson competed at her first international competition in Charleroi, Belgium. She was awarded the gold on floor, vault, and the all-around. After returning home from her first international competition, Johnson was greeted with lots of publicity and fame. She disregarded all the reporters who were vying for an interview with her and instead went directly back to Chow’s Gymnastics Academy to begin training for the upcoming international competitions. Although Johnson came out on top at the last competition, she knew she had to keep training and improve if she wanted to make the next Olympic team. Johnson continued her rigorous practices, learning new skills such as a Jaeger on bars, a full-in back out dismount on the beam, and a double-twisting double back on the floor exercise. All of these skills were top-difficulty skills, with very few people in the world completing them. At the age of fourteen, Johnson was now competing internationally as a junior elite, competing high difficulty skills and earning scores higher than any other senior elite competitor (“Famous People Born