A biography for Shawn Johnsonhasn’t been written yet.
“When I was younger, my coach, Liang Chow, made all the decisions. I would go to the gym for practice, do exactly what Chow told me to do, go home, come back and start all over again. If Chow told me to do 50 squat jumps, I did 50 squat jumps.”
“I have a healthy lifestyle, but there's nothing you can really do to prevent from rolling an ankle or something like that.”
“I'm doing four hours of gymnastics training a day, six days a week and then an extra two to three hours in a fitness center as well.”
“I don't know where I'm really going to cha cha, but hopefully I can find a place.”
“Everything is about your movements and precision and timing, which is what gymnastics is about.”
“I missed being considered an athlete and having that competitive drive, and missed having something to work for every day. I'd taken two and a half years away from the sport and was out of shape. I wanted to get back to where I was in 2008.”
“It sounds funny, but the 2008 Olympics were something that just kind of happened, and I was lucky they came at a point when I was uninjured and well prepared. As a gymnast, you can't ask for much more.”
“Retiring was scary and it was tough to give up gymnastics, but so many great opportunities have come from it that I never expected.”
“It's been strange and weird watching the other girls at the U.S. Olympic trials just because I was training to be out there myself.”
“With literature, sometimes a book is presented in the media as being say, a Muslim story or an African story, when essentially it's a universal story which we can all relate to it, no matter what race or social background we come from.”
“I'm trying to stay as calm as possible and focus one day at a time, but when reality sets in, I feel everything: anxiety, excitement, nerves, pressure and joy.”
“I was able to do Classics, the U.S. national championships and the Pan American Games and feel like I improved with each meet, but I was still struggling with a lot of residual pain from the two surgeries.”
“I don't want to be all power and muscle.”
“A comeback in gymnastics is almost impossible in itself.”
“My other life keeps me calm and grounded and normal.”
“I started from zero and went back to the basics in gymnastics.”
“Staying healthy and consistent is paramount.”
“It's about putting in the hours and going through the paces.”
“I get less and less sleep these days, so when I have any down time all I want to do is sleep!”
“I always have someone to look up to, and I think it helps me with motivating myself.”