Johnson, Liukin Land Spots on U.S. Olympic Team
6/23/2008
Johnson, Liukin Land Spots on U.S. Olympic Team
6.23.08
Boston Herald- Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA - Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin are taking their rivalry to the Beijing Olympics, where it will have golden overtones.
Johnson and Liukin earned guaranteed spots on the U.S. women’s gymnastics team last night after finishing 1-2 at the Olympic trials, the same places they had at the national championships two weeks ago.
As confetti rained down on them, tears filled the friends’ eyes and they exchanged a heartfelt hug.
credits: AP
Fine china: Gymnasts Nastia Liukin (left) and Shawn Johnson hug after learning they'd been nominated to the U.S. Olympic team last night in Philadelphia.
“We looked at each other for the longest time,” Liukin said. “Shawn said to me, ‘Can you believe it?’ She’s like, ‘We made it.’ I don’t know. It’s so crazy. Everything’s gone by so fast. Sitting here being an Olympian, it’s just amazing. I don’t even have the words. It’s a dream come true.”
Now the fun is seeing who will join them.
The remaining four members of the team and three alternates will be named after a July 20 selection camp at the Karolyi ranch in Houston. The training squad for the final selection camp is Alicia Sacramone, Chellsie Memmel, Samanta Peszek, Jana Bieger, Chelsea Davis, Ivana Hong, Mattie Larson, Corrie Lothrop, Bridget Sloan and Shayla Worley.
Johnson and Liukin are the best thing gymnastics has going, in the United States or anywhere in the world. Johnson is the reigning world champion, a bundle of power and personality that has people comparing her to Mary Lou Retton. Liukin puts the art in artistic gymnastics, a lithe blend of beauty and grace who has won seven medals, four of them gold, at the world championships since 2005.
That they would get the two automatic spots was a given.
“It feels amazing to finally have it be reality,” Johnson said. “To know I have a spot, to have earned it, to know it’s actually real is 100 times greater.”
Johnson is the Tiger Woods of her sport, undaunted by pressure no matter how big the stage. She didn’t have a single miss during the four days of competition at the national championships and Olympic trials, and she performs with a flair far bigger than her 4-foot-9 frame. She didn’t score anything below a 15.35 in the two days of trials, and posted four scores above 16.
