credits: Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

The stars seem to be aligned for high schooler Shawn Johnson to follow in some famous footsteps at this summer's Olympics.

Oh, and then there’s this little thing called the U.S. gymnastics championships that start Thursday. Not only is the 16-year-old the defending champion, but nationals are the first step in making the team for the Beijing Olympics.

“The nerves are pretty high. It’s a big meet, getting ready for trials,” she said after Wednesday’s workout. “But I’m so excited. I’ve been waiting so long to get back to championships. To know that everything is starting, my adrenaline is going and I can’t wait to start.”

Johnson is the reigning world champion, a title only three other American women have held. It’s a great title to have, and it sure sounds nice when the P.A. announcer says it.

And make no mistake, the fighting will be fierce over the next six weeks.

This is quite possibly the deepest the U.S. team has been, with at least a dozen gymnasts having legitimate chances to make the six-woman Olympic team. We’re talking powerhouse gymnasts, too. In addition to Johnson, Nastia Liukin, Alicia Sacramone and Chellsie Memmel have all won individual world titles. Ivana Hong, Shayla Worley and Samantha Peszek were part of the squad that won the team title at the world championships last year, and Bridget Sloan was the alternate.

Only the top two women at the Olympic trials, June 19-22 in Philadelphia, are guaranteed spots on the team for Beijing. The remaining four will be chosen after a selection camp at the Karolyi ranch in July.

“I think our biggest competition is ourselves, and the USA team is going to be the strongest one out there,” Johnson said. “Knowing that your biggest competition is your best friend, it’s going to make the Olympic trials and qualifying so exciting. But I think it’ll make our team even stronger.”

The competition certainly has been good for Johnson and Liukin.

The 18-year-old Liukin established herself as one of the world’s best gymnasts several years ago, winning titles on balance beam and uneven bars at the 2005 world championships.

And now comes nationals. While Liukin has an uneven bars routine that is ridiculously difficult, Johnson will be doing a vault so hard only two other women in the world do it. Johnson also will be debuting a new floor routine, to music from the movie “August Rush.”

“We’re really good friends, we’re really good competitors and we’re both really good athletes,” Johnson said of her rivalry with Liukin. “I think it’s great just because it makes me work really hard and makes her work really hard. We’re just helping each other get to a higher level for the team.”

There’s been a lot of hard work for Johnson the last few months — inside and outside the gym.

She spends 28 hours a week in the gym, only taking off on Sundays. But she still goes to public school, which means getting up early and spending her mornings in the classroom. She took four classes this semester — French, geometry, literature and biology — and kept up her 4.0. She also has an active social life; she went to prom with a group of 42 friends. Yes, 42.

But competitions and the monthly national team training camps mean frequent absences from school, and that work doesn’t just go away.

“I was getting a little overwhelmed,” she said. “My school gave me the option of completely stop schooling for the last two weeks and then finish it all during the summer. But I still attended school. I didn’t want to have that nagging at me and hanging over my head. So I finished up finals and I finished up everything I could.

“I have a few little things (left). But other than that I’m good to go.”

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