Shawn Johnson a central Iowa girl is on her way to the olympics.
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs...RTS15/806240385
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Philadelphia, Pa. - Now that Shawn Johnson is on the Olympic gymnastics team, can she deliver gold? Her coach, Liang Chow, smiled. "We're trying to achieve that," he said. Translation: Sure, she can. "She has some possibilities," Chow said Monday morning at a news conference the day after the Olympic Trials made Johnson and Nastia Liukin the first two athletes on the six-member team. "Team, all-around, floor, beam." He knows the situation better than Johnson does. Chow does the scouting, the coaching, the analyzing, the strategizing. Johnson, 16, of West Des Moines, just hits the big scores. "I don't really know what the other gymnasts are doing," Johnson said of the Russians, Chinese, Romanians and other contenders. Chow, meanwhile, scours the Web and breaks down video of all the world's top gymnasts - even the Chinese, who are rarely seen by U.S. gymnasts. And his analysis? "Her competition is really herself," he said. "There are some very decent gymnasts, but I believe it's up to Shawn." And she's holding up under enormous pressure. USA Gymnastics and national team coordinator Martha Karolyi are counting on her to lead the team to unprecedented success. Johnson also wants to please her family and friends, coaches, teammates and - now that she has turned professional - sponsors. After Johnson posted the highest score in the Olympic Trials, a reporter asked whether she ever tells herself she has to win, since she's already on a McDonald's cup. |