Shawn Johnson - Olympic Gymnastics Gold Medalist

Shawn Machel Johnson (born January 19, 1992) is an American artistic gymnast. She is the 2008 Olympic women's balance beam gold medalist, the individual all-around silver medalist,^[1] the 2007 all-around World Champion, and the 2007 and 2008 U.S. all-around champion.

Johnson was born in Des Moines, Iowa, the daughter and only child of Doug and Teri Johnson. Her parents enrolled her in a gymnastics class at age three after they noticed her climbing up cabinets and jumping down from tables. At the age of six, she was among the first students when Liang Chow opened a gymnastics school in West Des Moines.