Proud Iowan loving Shawn Johnson

[DU9598]

Watching Shawn Johnson tonight I am so proud of her accomplishments at the Olympics - her being an Iowan makes it extra special here in the heartland. I will not post results for fear of spoiler on the balance beam competition. However, I am not only proud of her accomplishments, but she flashed a peace sign at the camera after her routine and she is wearing peace earrings in her Bob Costas interview.

Way to go Shawn! Peace!

[distantearlywarning]

1. She is incredibly cute.

As well as being a terrific gymnast and having a good attitude win or lose.

I was so pleased for her tonight.

[bullwinkle428]

2. YES! I was literally about to start a thread (being a fellow Iowan)

essentially titled "SHAWN JOHNSON : PEACE SIGN EARRINGS!"

[ColbertWatcher]

3. The first time I had heard about her was after the Iowa floods ...

...do you know if her gym has been fixed?

What is the condition of her town?

NBC did a piece on her, but made no mention of the flood or how the community rallied afterward.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2008-06-18-wome...

That's a link from The USA Today about Miss Johnson and the flood.

[DU9598]

5. West Des Moines is fine

Her gym was not significantly damaged, but it did interrupt her practices.

The Iowans in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City in the eastern side of the state bore the brunt of the flooding. They are still suffering and the media no longer finds it news worthy.

[ColbertWatcher]

6. I was shocked that they didn't even mention it on NBC, but ...

...NBC is really sucking hard on their Olympic coverage.

Maybe with Miss Johnson's success, there will be more attention given to the area.

Were you effected by the floods?

[Lex]

4. I saw that!!!

I saw her flash the peace sign and I saw her great peace earrings. It was awesome.

Thank you Shawn Johnson!

[XOKCowboy]

19. She was so natural in that interview with Costas

What a wonderful athlete and sweet little girl. Oh and LOVE them PEACE earrings!!

[Hardrada]

7. Bravo Shawn Johnson!!

Another Iowan checking in here to praise you for your endearing personal qualities and for your top medal performance as the world was watching. Thank you for lifting our hearts.

[JI7]

8. she is one of my favorites this year

she is very little but you can see the determination she has and a smile that just lights up everything.

[my2sense]

9. Congrats Shawn

She has been one of my favorites.

[Frustratedlady]

10. Isn't she darling? I just love her and am also proud she is from Iowa.

She just seems so fresh and sweet. As she said, she's a tomboy with a smile!

[XOKCowboy]

11. For once I'm grateful for the Mtn time delayed broadcast...

Watching it now.. Poor Li Shangshan (sorry I'm guessing her last name) of China. She fell off of the balance bar and you could see in her face that she knew she was in big trouble. I really felt sorry for her

[CoffeeCat]

14. I saw that too...

...it is so awful when they fall off.

They perform those routines perfectly, thousands of times. To fall off
like that would be heartbreaking.

I wonder if China is hard on those gymnasts when they make mistakes like that? I get
the feeling that life gets pretty miserable when those girls from China don't perform
to expectations. Yikes.

[XOKCowboy]

15. That was my thought!!

She looked so scared. Made me wonder also what her fate would be if she's not part of their Olympic program.

[SoCalDem]

22. They are still doing gymnastics?? I thought it was all over

when they had the all-round.. Didn't that used to be the last event??

[question everything]

24. It was not live

the events took place last night.

[Thothmes]

26. Next week she will be in some factory, working 10 hour days for the

glory of the state.

[CoffeeCat]

12. Another Iowan checking in...

It was wonderful watching Shawn Johnson tonight.

She is just so genuine and sweet. What a talent!

Love those peace earrings, too.

I cried tonight when she won that gold medal. When they showed her parents clutching
each other, as they sat in the stands--crying in this amazing embrace, it was so moving!
I can only imagine how awesome it would be to be the parents of that amazing child. She
just seems so sweet and down-to-earth.

Amazing!

[MiniMe]

13. It would be nice to change the title and put spoiler in it

I saw it, but some left coasters may not have.

[XOKCowboy]

16. Here's her website

She's such a cutie.

http://www.shawnjohnson.net/

[bdamomma]

31. I left her a message of congrats on her blog.

[RB TexLa]

17. From Plano, TX, I know the feeling.

[XOKCowboy]

18. Dude that second picture says a lot..

It kind of shows the difference between winning the Gold and the Silver....

[spanone]

20. wow, what a performance....loved her earrings...and her heart

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

21. Shawn was great throughout the Olympics

but she is truly a holy terror on the beam. Three silvers and one gold for one Olympics - pretty freaking impressive! She also seems like a nice, well-grounded young woman. I salute you, Iowans, and that is not an easy thing for a Minnesotan to say.

[emmadoggy]

23. Another Iowan here...

I was SOOOO happy for her tonight and she really earned it. Nastia was awesome too, but her start value was a little lower, so Shawn really deserved it. The two of them have really done so well at these Olympics.

And Shawn is only 16 so she definitely could be back in 2012!

Congrats, Shawn!!

[RNdaSilva]

25. U.S Olympic Gymnast Gals Did Great...Congrats.

Yes, both should be on the Wheaties box.

Nastia, learn to smile.

[bdamomma]

30. Michael Phelps is already on the Corn Flakes cereal box!!

get ready for the endorsements!!!

[entanglement]

27. Congratulations to Shawn (and her coach Liang Chow)

[Irishonly]

28. As a former Iowan I was proud

Even if I do say so myself, Iowa has turned out some great people.

[bdamomma]

29. cute girl and she did very well

and I liked the peace earrings.

[question everything]

32. Even the WSJ editorial loves her

The Wall Street Journal

Shawn Johnson, Gamer
August 20, 2008; Page A18

The 4-feet-9-inch, 16-year-old bundle of power named Shawn Johnson is due back in class next week at West Des Moines Valley High School. But before it's time to start junior year, she deserves a few moments to savor her Olympic gold medal in the gymnastics balance beam. Her Tuesday victory was her first of the Beijing Games, but for more than a week she has been an inspiring example of guts and grace.

As reigning world champion, Ms. Johnson was a gold-medal favorite going into the Games. But despite her own performance in the team competition, the U.S. lost the gold to China when her teammates struggled. Ms. Johnson's reaction was to remind her most distraught comrade that it was Ms. Johnson who had made costly mistakes in a tournament last year.

When American Nastia Liukin beat her in the all-around competition, she smiled and told NBC's Bob Costas how happy she was for Ms. Liukin, her Olympic village roommate. A near-miss in the floor exercise elicited more goodwill. "I would never trade one of my silvers for gold," she told ESPN. "What I went through to get them is very special to me and really touched my heart."

Of course she still wanted gold, and it was fitting that her last shot would come on the balance beam, an event so difficult and unforgiving that many people can't even stand to watch it, never mind try to pull off backward somersaults atop a four-inch sliver of wood. Ms. Johnson's score of 16.225 gave her the win and triggered a bouncing, tearful celebration. Few medal winners in Beijing were more deserving.




URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121918978179355009.html