Biography of Shawn Johnson

Storybook ending?
Iowa's Shawn Johnson will be 16 at the 2008 Games -- the same age as the only other American Olympic all-around champions: Mary Lou Retton and Carly Patterson. Her coaches, Liang Chow and Liwen Zhuang are Beijing natives who met, and fell in love, while competing for the Chinese national team. Johnson will enter the Beijing Games as the reigning world all-around champion and due to her combination of difficult routines and impeccable execution, four hit routines would almost assure her a gold.

So far: 2008
Johnson entered the American Cup in March with an undefeated season behind her. She debuted -- and fell -- on a new vault (See 'Difficulty Factor' below) and finished second to U.S. teammate Nastia Liukin. But at Nationals, Johnson hit the vault on both days of competition and topped Liukin in the all-around standings by a point, winning her second U.S. title.  She continued her streak by hitting the vault both days at Olympic Trials on her way to finishing first and securing a spot on the 2008 Olympic Team.

World Champion 
In 2007, Johnson went undefeated in the all-around at the senior level. In her first senior season, Johnson won the American Cup all-around title and then added three gold medals, including the all-around, at the Pan American Games before taking the U.S. national title in August. She dominated the all-around at the 2007 Worlds, winning by more than a point. Johnson also won a gold medal with the U.S. team and an individual floor exercise title.

Paying tribute
In a nod to her coaches -- and the Games -- Johnson competed at the 2006 U.S. Nationals with her name in Chinese on her leotard. Johnson came up with the idea, and researched the characters on the internet. In 2007 she went one better, adding Li, her beam coach, to the sleeve and Chow's Gymnastics, the name of her gym, to her warm-ups.

Animal lover
During study halls, Johnson often walks animal shelter dogs as part of her school's volunteer program. She has two tabby cats, Max and Vern, adopted from a local shelter, and a golden retriever named Tucker.

Kimbo #2
Martha Karolyi, the U.S. National Team coordinator, sees the comparisons between Johnson and 1991 world champion Kim Zmeskal and has dubbed her "Kimbo #2." Karolyi also has called her "Pumpkin," the same nickname she and husband Bela had for Zmeskal, who is one of Johnson's idols.

Difficulty factor
Johnson is known for her power and amplitude on all of her skills. She's capable of a vault that only a handful of gymnasts in the world have performed -- a Yurchenko with 2 1/2 twists -- and tumbles on the elevated, 4-inch-wide beam as if it were the floor.

Breakin' out
Johnson burst onto the scene in 2006, making her mark at the U.S. Nationals, where she won the junior title with a score that topped the entire women's field -- seniors included.

Out on a limb
Then an unknown coach, Liang made a gutsy move in 2005 when he submitted a videotape of Johnson's gymnastics to Martha Karolyi, the U.S. national team coordinator with a letter describing Shawn as "a gymnast who could help the U.S. team." Liang kept the letter a secret from Johnson, until one afternoon during the daily announcements when he told his entire team that Johnson had been invited to the Karolyi ranch, where the U.S. national team trains each month. "I was so proud of him," Johnson said. "[Going to the ranch] was something I really wanted and he made it happen."

Scary start
Johnson scored a zero on her APGAR test (measures newborns' physical condition after delivery); a score of seven or higher is considered "in good health". It didn't slow her for long. Johnson walked at nine months, skipping the crawling stage, and was climbing out of her crib before she was one year old. As a toddler, she would pile all of her toys on the floor as a makeshift ladder to reach the top of the family's entertainment center. From there, she'd jump onto the red leather couch.