Humble Shawn Johnson after Olympic gold

Shawn Johnson has stayed humble during her meteoric rise to be world champion but wants Olympic gold

By Clay Latimer, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published August 10, 2008 at 10:41 p.m.

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Photo by Amy Sancetta/Associated Press

U.S. gymnast Shawn Johnson performs on the balance beam during the women's qualification rounds Sunday.

Shawn Johnson obviously had forgotten she was a celebrity.

Only a few weeks earlier, the tiny Iowan had bounced into American living rooms with a gold-medal performance in the all-around at the World Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart, Germany.

Now the phones were buzzing in her agent's office with endorsement offers from McDonald's and Coca-Cola; work had started on a life-size bronze statue of her for the Iowa Hall of Pride; and Iowa Gov. Chet Culver was proclaiming "Shawn Johnson Day" in the state.

So where was Johnson? Hanging out with A-list jocks in L.A.? Checking out New York City? On a victory tour?

Actually, she was back in West Des Moines, enjoying everyday life at Valley High School, where she's a ball girl for the football team and just another girl in the class of 2010.

"Public school has always been my fallback from gymnastics," Johnson said. "I'm able to go to school during the day and have that place where I don't have to think about gymnastics all the time. It gives me another world that keeps me calm and grounded and normal. I basically have two separate lives."

In a hypercompetitive sport, where many prodigies leave their families to train in faraway gyms and study in special schools, Johnson is the perfect girl next door, as ordinary as Target, where she likes to shop for clothes, or Mary Lou Retton, the sweetheart of the 1984 Olympics and her idol.

Every four years, USA Gymnastics unveils the Next Mary Lou, the latest "It Girl," only to watch a bobble or wobble or minuscule slip derail every golden girl's dreams, except for Carly Patterson four years ago in Athens.

But Johnson's talents are as

real as her Iowa roots. Explosiveness, speed, infectious charisma - this pony-tailed elfin has the entire package, which is why many believe she could join Retton in the pantheon of Olympic gymnastics legends when competition begins today at the Beijing Games.

"It's an honor to have someone make that comparison. Yet I'm in this sport to become the next Shawn Johnson," she said. "I'm not here to copy or become someone else. I want to become my own person, set my own titles and make history because of being me and no one else."

Key to U.S. success

Weighing in at 95 pounds and standing 4-foot-8, Johnson could wield influence well beyond her sport.

Determined to surpass the U.S. in the final overall medals count, China has selected gymnastics as a rich target of opportunity to bolster its traditional strength in such sports as pingpong and diving.

At the 2007 world championships, the countries combined to win nine of 15 medals, with the U.S. beating China by 0.95 of a point, a reversal of the 2006 world championships when the Chinese beat the U.S. by 0.85.

Anticipation for their Beijing showdown is running so high, tickets for 10 days of men's and women's competition at 19,000-seat National Indoor Stadium were sold the instant they became available.

"I think we're the strongest team probably in history," John- son said. "I don't think there'll be anyone that can beat us."

But to beat China on its home turf, the U.S. needs Johnson and Nastia Liukin to ace their all- around routines.

The two couldn't be more different. Liukin was born in Russia and groomed from the start for Olympic glory by her father, Valeri, who was a Russian gymnast, and her mother, Anna, a Russian rhythmic gymnast.

Doug and Teri Johnson, a carpenter and an accounting clerk, knew nothing about gymnastics when they met at a local roller rink. But they sensed their daughter was headed places early when she started leaping off cabinets and tumbling through rooms as a toddler.

Something special

When Shawn was 5, her parents took her to a local gym owned by Liang Chow, who'd been co-captain of China's national gymnastics team in the late 1980s.

After graduating from the University of Iowa, Liang settled in West Des Moines, hoping to develop an Olympian. He opened Chow's Gymnastics and Dance Institute in 1998 with his wife, Li; a few days later, the Johnsons walked in.

"I definitely think something happened when I met Chow and Li. They saw something special in me. I never started gymnastics thinking I wanted to become an Olympian," Johnson said. "It was always just my passion and my love."

When Johnson was 13, Chow sent a videotape of his prodigy to Martha Karolyi, coordinator of the U.S. national women's team, attaching a note saying Johnson merited a spot in a developmental camp. Having coached Nadia Comaneci and Retton, Karolyi leapt at the opportunity to tutor John- son.

"There are some similarities - extremely big explosiveness, the joy of performing, the ability to perform, in front of people, in pressure situations," Karolyi said.

Two years ago, Johnson was little more than a promising junior, untested in major meets.

But during a stunning stretch that vaulted her onto the international stage, she won the 2007 American Cup and the all-around titles in the Pan American Games, the 2007 Visa National Championships and the 2007 world championships.

"I wanted to go out, have fun and have the time of my life," she said of the world championships. "And I did."

She's relatable

Not only had John- son demonstrated superior power, speed and a pro's sense of showmanship, but she also made the ordinary seem rare in a sport where compulsive behavior is the norm, which is why she currently is looking at endorsement deals approaching $1 million.

"She's done a super job of developing herself. She's done an outstanding job of delivering both on and off the field of play for the sport," said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. "Her personality is something a lot of people relate to; her Midwestern upbringing is something people find kind of refreshing at a certain level.

"She's very in touch with sort of her day-to-day life. Her folks have done a really nice job of wanting her to stay connected to her roots and focus on things outside the sport that are really important.

"There's been a lot of talk among some of the corporate entities that one of the great things of the Olympics is that it turns regular people into heroes. I truly believe that. These guys and gals become American Idol during that two weeks of the Games. It's the ultimate reality television. If you think about it, there's no better human drama than the Olympic Games."

Even now, Teri Johnson frets about the corrupting seductions of celebrity. But once Shawn steps inside the double doors at Valley High School, she quickly succumbs to the irresistible pull of friends and to a familiar state of mind.

"Iowa is the best place ever," she said. "It's the most supportive and caring and 'home' place I could possibly be.

"It never occurred to me to move somewhere else."

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