Shawn Johnson??
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tweeters
Well it's not official yet, I sincerely doubt that she will return to gymnastics. She's said she'd have to find a new coach, and I don't really think it's in the cards for her to make a comeback. I'm so sure, I'd bet money that she'll never compete again. However, like I said, it's not official, so anything could happen.
She has not decided yet. She said she has to wait until all the media and all that stuff dies down a little, and then she will get back into the gym again for a few practices and just see wear her heart is.
She is too busy making money and fame for herself at this time. She isn't even doing school regularly the last I heard.
Of course Shawn is going to say that. Admitting that you have quit is a good way to stop the money from rolling in. The comments about her former team-mates and the way she has (not) interacted with them, is really telling.
I think she would struggle with coming back. Compared to many she has picked up skills with ease. I don't think things will be so easy for her now that her body has matured. She can't even keep on with the personal training, if she was going to return she would be making more of an effort.
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tweeters
She said so herself, but it's less a "need" and more of a "want," mainly for personal reasons. I'm not going to speak for her, but I think it's safe to say that Chow would not take her back until she got into a little better shape (PS: I think the camera was deceiving on DWTS, she's still quite small in person).
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msl529
According to an article I read in the paper (by someone who interviewed her at the VISA Champs), she said she had hired a personal trainer to help her get back into shape. After a bit of that, she was then going to try doing some gym stuff, to see where her fitenss and skill levels were. She said, if she wasn't confident that she could 'still be as good as she was before', she was not going to do it.
Seeing what a tought time Nastia has had getting back to her original skill set & form, & knowing that Shawn has been busier, and spent less time in the gym than Nastia, my humble opnion is that it will be too hard for Shawn.
I say, she's had her moments of glory & fun, let's step down and open up the field for the up-&-comer's, who would like their chance to shine! I mean that for Nastia too. In the nicest way possible, does that makse sense? I love them both, so much. But there's just not that much room at the top, and I'd like to see whoever else is healthy, get their chance, you know?
Seeing what a tought time Nastia has had getting back to her original skill set & form, & knowing that Shawn has been busier, and spent less time in the gym than Nastia, my humble opnion is that it will be too hard for Shawn.
I say, she's had her moments of glory & fun, let's step down and open up the field for the up-&-comer's, who would like their chance to shine! I mean that for Nastia too. In the nicest way possible, does that makse sense? I love them both, so much. But there's just not that much room at the top, and I'd like to see whoever else is healthy, get their chance, you know?
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dannolynn
I don't agree that gymnasts who have competed and done well in an olympics or other major competition should just hang up their leotard and be done and let someone else "have a chance." I think gymnasts should compete as long as they want to, and as long as they can. I think the best gymnasts should shine, not just the newest gymnast, or the gymnast that the US media want to turn into the next big thing.
Nastia can still get back to her previous top form, and she's really not that far off if you look at her beam routine. She just hasn't had a chance to do the numbers, which is what brings consistency. If she gets back to her previous form, and is the best... why should she stop competing just so someone else has a better chance of winning with her out of the way? I applaud Nastia for sticking with it (and any gymnast who keeps competing for a long time!) and seeing how much she can do, and potentially seeing if she can win more medals.
And why not? These girls shouldn't be competing in gymnastics for the sake of getting famous, and then quitting when they do. They should be competing to be the best gymnast they can be, or to see if they can be the best gymnast in the world. Oksana Chusovitina has competed at the elite level since 1992. Beth Tweddle (while I'm not her biggest fan...) is shooting for the 2012 olympics last I heard. Anna Pavlova competed in 2 olympics as well. The best gymnasts are the ones who aren't just a flash in the pan, but who keep coming back, and who keep being the best. Look at Nadia Comaneci, who was a sensation after the 76 olympics... she came back in 1980 to win gold medals. Should she have quit so that someone else could get a chance to win gold?
I think the US media has been hurting gymnastics as of late, by making it a popularity contest. They're so quick to latch onto celebrity, and I think it detracts from the sport and the athletes and what they do. Everyone says that the publicity is good for the sport, but I think it's the wrong kind of publicity. It damages these girls' gymnastics careers, it doesn't help them. If there hadn't been all the media appearances and hype, the girls could have just gone right back into the gym, which is what most athletes from other countries did after the olympics.
I'm sorry for this long rant... I know it's kind of unrelated to whether Shawn Johnson in particular is coming back.
Nastia can still get back to her previous top form, and she's really not that far off if you look at her beam routine. She just hasn't had a chance to do the numbers, which is what brings consistency. If she gets back to her previous form, and is the best... why should she stop competing just so someone else has a better chance of winning with her out of the way? I applaud Nastia for sticking with it (and any gymnast who keeps competing for a long time!) and seeing how much she can do, and potentially seeing if she can win more medals.
And why not? These girls shouldn't be competing in gymnastics for the sake of getting famous, and then quitting when they do. They should be competing to be the best gymnast they can be, or to see if they can be the best gymnast in the world. Oksana Chusovitina has competed at the elite level since 1992. Beth Tweddle (while I'm not her biggest fan...) is shooting for the 2012 olympics last I heard. Anna Pavlova competed in 2 olympics as well. The best gymnasts are the ones who aren't just a flash in the pan, but who keep coming back, and who keep being the best. Look at Nadia Comaneci, who was a sensation after the 76 olympics... she came back in 1980 to win gold medals. Should she have quit so that someone else could get a chance to win gold?
I think the US media has been hurting gymnastics as of late, by making it a popularity contest. They're so quick to latch onto celebrity, and I think it detracts from the sport and the athletes and what they do. Everyone says that the publicity is good for the sport, but I think it's the wrong kind of publicity. It damages these girls' gymnastics careers, it doesn't help them. If there hadn't been all the media appearances and hype, the girls could have just gone right back into the gym, which is what most athletes from other countries did after the olympics.
I'm sorry for this long rant... I know it's kind of unrelated to whether Shawn Johnson in particular is coming back.
I say, she's had her moments of glory & fun, let's step down and open up the field for the up-&-comer's, who would like their chance to shine! I mean that for Nastia too. In the nicest way possible, does that makse sense? I love them both, so much. But there's just not that much room at the top, and I'd like to see whoever else is healthy, get their chance, you know?
So who would you let out to have a chance? I am sorry, it is a competition and to win you need to beat the best! This is not sandbagging at your local level four meet, we are talking about worlds and international reputation. Sorry the USA needs Nastia, here is some simple math. Now the USA and China are similar in difficulty across Vault, Beam and Floor. On bars the Chinese have at least three 7+ difficulty scores (and Nastia of course).
From championship
Bross 6.2/6.1
Hong 5.7/6.0 (will be hammered on execution internationally)
Bieger 6.1/6.1 (will be hammered on execution internationally)
Who in their right mind would accept a three point difference between their main rival just to allow a gymnast a chance.
In all fairness, some atheletes do get burnt out after many years of hard work. They stake it out until the goal is reached. Now that they are there, wanting to walk away is quite reasonable to me.
However, in Shawn's case, I think it's a case of greed and giving in temptation. She is risking throwing her life and passion away in exchange for more fame and fortune (in the world of far less talented).
Don't get me wrong, I dream about getting rich every day too.
I have a huge issue with her (and more so with her parents) for passing up finishing high school for paid tours and appearances. People sympathize with her for being overwhelmed and having the need to capitalize on the opportunity. Why? She is still only a child and she needs to stay healthy, educated and be with her family. Afterall, she has already attained plenty of financial rewards for what she achieved. Apparently, it is not enough.
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dannolynn
I can definitely see that... it is a very difficult sport, and a difficult level of activity to sustain for sure! I just have a harder time believing that someone like Shawn Johnson, who only competed at the sr. elite level for 2 years (unless I'm mistaken?? I thought she came on the scene in 2007), who only trained 4-5 hours a day, and who didn't have any injuries (that I know of??) is burnt out. But I'm not a big fan of Shawn's so I would not be sad if she stops competing.
I like Nastia and want to see more / different from her and would hate to see her quit now. I just wish our favorites were immune from burn out and injuries so we could enjoy lots and lots of performances from them.
the media will focus on who has the biggest "scandal" or "glamour icons" (for lack of a better word) that has nothing to do with how good they are or who they are competing with or their difficlty or what they will do. THAT only gets attention from us. the mediea wants as much attention as possible so they feel they must stoop to that level and talk about the downs just because more people would read that. so with shawns coaching thing and her dancing with the stars win naturally she is a large focus.
Whoa its scary how seriously misinformed most of you in this thread are.
1) Shawn isn't to quitting high school to pursue fame and fortune. She is completing high school online, after the olympics tours and dancing with the stars, she fell to far behind to complete it on time unless she did so online.
2) Shawn plans on attending UCLA or Stanford next fall, so again shes not throwing her life or future away for anything.
3) Shawn has been working with a personal trainer since DWTS to get back in shape and his going back to the gym with CHOW(IDK where you get this new coach thing because everything I have read includes Chow) in October to assess what she is able to do and her future abilities. She said in recent articles that she hopes to be competing again by next year, but she doesn't know how she will adjust.
4) Shes doing what she loves and enjoying life right now. Maybe she needed a break from gymnastics, she seemed like she was very EMOTIONALLY burned out from it afterwards. IDK if she will ever compete again, but I think she definitely needed a seroius break.
5)Shes making an official decision by the end of the year. Her mind is far from made up either way.
1) Shawn isn't to quitting high school to pursue fame and fortune. She is completing high school online, after the olympics tours and dancing with the stars, she fell to far behind to complete it on time unless she did so online.
2) Shawn plans on attending UCLA or Stanford next fall, so again shes not throwing her life or future away for anything.
3) Shawn has been working with a personal trainer since DWTS to get back in shape and his going back to the gym with CHOW(IDK where you get this new coach thing because everything I have read includes Chow) in October to assess what she is able to do and her future abilities. She said in recent articles that she hopes to be competing again by next year, but she doesn't know how she will adjust.
4) Shes doing what she loves and enjoying life right now. Maybe she needed a break from gymnastics, she seemed like she was very EMOTIONALLY burned out from it afterwards. IDK if she will ever compete again, but I think she definitely needed a seroius break.
5)Shes making an official decision by the end of the year. Her mind is far from made up either way.
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tweeters
I got my information from Shawn's mouth to my ears. Pretty sure it's accurate. Just so you know....
I am pretty sure your ears screwed up the information then. As I heard her say a week ago she was going back to the gym with Chow in October. She may have to switch coaches if she decides to continue with gymnatics as shes wants to live in California. As of now though, she is still with Chow.
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shawnjohnsonfan
Hello, i live in iowa, and i have met shawn johnson and its not offical that she is going to retire because she is for sure going back to gymnastics!
But she said that if she can get her strength and her skills back then yes she will go back.
But yeah, so anyways thats it.
But she said that if she can get her strength and her skills back then yes she will go back.
But yeah, so anyways thats it.
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tweeters
You don't need to be rude.
Obviously she's changed her mind if you heard her say that. Or maybe the venue in which she was speaking made it inappropriate to say what she really thinks/wants. I have no idea. I don't claim to know Shawn's intimate thoughts, I'm only repeating what I heard come from her mouth. I quote:
Another person I was with: "So Shawn, what about gymnastics?"
Shawn: "Well, I'll have to find a different coach..."
*awkward silence*
The silence was very telling. As this conversation happened about a month ago, I'm not certain of what exactly was said next, but it was something along the lines of Shawn needing to find a different coach because she didn't want to go back to Chow because of what he said to her. It was clear she didn't want to talk about it, so no one pressed her.
It's certainly possible that she changed her mind, but in reality I doubt that it matters since I don't think she'll be making a return to gymnastics.
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