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USA gymnastics: Iowan Shawn Johnson clinches spot on U.S. Olympic squad
6/23/2008 Shawn Johnson, the West Des Moines 16-year-old who has charged up the gymnastics scene with her wholesome habits and her holy cow athletic skills, will lead the favored U.S. women's team into the Summer Olympics in six weeks. Johnson wrapped up her prized spot by dominating the two-day Olympic Trials ending Sunday, earning one of two automatic berths along with Nastia Liukin. Johnson scored 127.650 points in the Trials, and Liukin, of Parker, Texas, scored 125.850. "It feels amazing to have it finally be a reality," Johnson said. Johnson performed her final event, the floor exercise, with glee, like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, landing double doubles and a triple whip with ease. Then, knowing a ticket to Beijing was in hand, she blew a kiss to the wildly screaming crowd of 13,920 at the Wachovia Center. "I wanted to cry tears of joy," Johnson said. "The floor wrapped everything up. It sealed the ticket." Liukin, a nine-time world medalist, and Johnson, the reigning world champion, will give the United States a strong shot at winning its first Olympic team gold medal ever on foreign soil. The only U.S. team gold medal ever came from the 1996 Atlanta squad starring Shannon Miller, Dominique Moceanu and Kerri Strug. Both Johnson and Liukin will be top contenders for the coveted all-around gold medal and the superstar status that it promises. All Johnson, a straight-A student at Valley High School, wanted after Sunday's conclusion was to find her parents, Doug and Teri Johnson, and coaches, Liang Chow and Liwen Zhuang. "I just want to tell my parents that I love them," Johnson said. "They have been my biggest supporters. Thank you." Johnson's berth on the Beijing team has been a dream for almost as long as she has trained under Chow, a former Chinese world team member from Beijing, at Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute in West Des Moines. "I wanted to tell Chow thank you," Johnson said. "I wanted to cry. I wanted to know I made everybody proud." Chow couldn't have been more proud. "Overall she had a great meet," he said, trying to steer her onto the team bus and away from dozens of journalists from around the globe. "She's prepared for Beijing. She did an excellent job mentally, physically, gymnastically. She's ready. "And I'm excited." Johnson was in control of Sunday's final round from the start. She was the first gymnast to compete and it was in her most precarious event, the vault. She flew high to complete two rotations and 2twists, scoring 15.9. On uneven bars, Johnson's weakest event although still at a world-class level, she scored 15.35 with a clean routine. She took a substantial lead over Liukin with her outstanding balance beam routine, scoring a 16.2. She danced and tumbled to the highest score of the night in the floor exercise, then heard her name called as an Olympic team member. "It was an overwhelming sensation," Johnson said. "It was all happiness and nerves. I'm so nervous, but so excited.
"It's scary to think myj country picked me to represent them in the Olympics." But the fright is fleeting. "This moment," she said, "is worth all of it." |
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