About an hour ago, twitter EXPLODED trending worldwide after Shawn Johnson announced on her facebook page that she will be retiring from the sport of gymnastics, but will go to London (*cough* with the support of her sponsors*cough*) to cheer the team on at the 2012 Olympic Games! Here is a excerpt;
2008 Olympic balance beam gold-medalist Johnson retires from competitive gymnastics
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa, June 3, 2012 – Shawn Johnson of West Des Moines, Iowa, who has four Olympic and three World career medals, today announced her retirement from competitive gymnastics. Her stellar career includes three World gold medals and one gold and three silver Olympic medals, and her gymnastics prowess and outgoing personality made her a fan favorite. Johnson, who has been on the comeback trail since 2011, was forced to cut her efforts to make her second Olympic team short due to recurring knee problems.
“I still have the heart, drive, and desire to compete and help the USA at the London Olympics,” said Johnson, who also won two senior U.S. all-around titles. “Unfortunately, it has become obvious that my left knee is not able to sustain the demands of gymnastics any longer. All I can do now is gracefully retire and thank everyone who has believed in me and my journey.
“Being given the opportunity again by Martha Karolyi and USA Gymnastics to represent the USA has been the greatest honor of this comeback,” said Johnson. “Thanks to all of my sponsors for allowing me to represent them, and their support has been a dream come true. Also, my agent, Sheryl Shade, has truly given me the chance to pursue my biggest dream while sharing my story with the world. And to my fans and friends, I will be forever grateful. To my parents, Teri and Doug, I thank you for the love you have given me. To my coaches, Liang and Li Qiao (Chow), thank you for nurturing me throughout my life in the sport of gymnastics and the lessons of sportsmanship.
“I am announcing this now so the focus for the next three weeks will be on the incredibly talented gymnasts who are trying to make our 2012 Olympic Team,” said Johnson. “I have had the honor to train and compete with them, and I am excited to join the gymnastics family and fans in cheering them on to victory. I will be there with every ounce of pride and energy to cheer on my girls and Team USA.”
Read the rest HERE
Now, I will let you know something that I probably shouldn’t share, but will share anyway. Although I love Shawn Johnson and respect her “spontaneous” decision, I personally spoke with one of the front-runners for the 2012 Olympics (who shall remain nameless) and was told Ms. Johnson was not actually as serious about this comeback as has been lead to believe, and it’s more or less a business move to acquire sponsorships and endorsements in this Olympic year. Although I’d sorta suspected it to be true, I still held out hope that my source could be mistaken. Well, 3 weeks later and my held-out hopes were dashed; It was actually the truth! I learned this news on the day of the Media Summit, some of the girls knew this for quite some time. Oh well!
Whatever the truth of the matter, good luck to Shawn Johnson in whatever you decide to pursue. You still have a huge fan base and has brought a lot of excitement to the sport. I’m sure you will continue to be successful in your future endeavors!
GymnastHole 