The Philadelphia Inquirer
by Marcus Hayes

June 18, 2008

SHE IS THE anti-Tiger, the non-LeBron.

She lacks the veneer of the corporate megastar, is untouched by entitlement or arrogance.

Because of that, by the end of August, she might be as well known as both.

Shawn Johnson takes her next big step toward that end this weekend, at the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials at the Wachovia Center.

The reigning all-around world champion, she has only lately, and perhaps a little unexpectedly, earned her fame. She was not groomed for this.

Partly because of that, she will win you.

She is the antidote in the age of Britney and Paris and Lindsay Lohan.

If things fall right, she’s the new Mary Lou.

She is sweet, 16, human and reserved, the only child of a West Des Moines couple, a 4-8 Iowan straight out of a John Cougar Mellencamp song.

She is the best, almost by happenstance, because Teri and Doug had to do something with their overactive toddler. By age 5 she had a serious coach, Liang Qiao (Chow), a Chinese star in the 1980s. He saw real potential – both as a gymnast, and as a person.

“He’s never pushed for insane hours … so I don’t get burned out,” Johnson said.

That was just fine with Johnson’s parents.

“They never pushed me,” Johnson insisted. “It was a self-motivational thing. I just exceeded, year after year.”

Instead of endless workouts that often lead to midteen crashes for so many of the pixies, Chow set limits on her practice sessions.

Instead of tutors or private academies, Johnson attends local Valley Southwoods High. She was a ball girl for the football team last year.

All of which made sense when Johnson was a dominant junior gymnast.

Remarkably, perhaps, none of that changed with sponsorships from, among others, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and adidas; none of that changed with Olympic gold in her sights following her world championship win.

“They kept me pretty normal, pretty grounded,” Johnson said. “I think if I’ve come this far, I can stick out the rest of it. My parents think it’s mandatory I lead a normal life.”

Normal, with qualifications; normal, for an elite gymnast.

During the week, Johnson goes to school from about 8 a.m. until noon and hits the gym at about 2:30 for 4 hours. On Saturday, she trains for 6 hours.

The results: a sweep of her meets in 2007, her first year as a senior competitor, and, June 7 in Boston, a second straight U.S. national title.

Next, perhaps, Olympic gold.

Just like Mary Lou Retton.

But then, despite their similarities, no one in Johnson’s camp embraces the comparison.

“She’s always inspired me to be like her. She’s the nicest lady I’ve ever met,” Johnson said . . . and lapsed into corporate third-person speak. “I’m in this sport to become Shawn Johnson. I’m not here to become someone else.”

“Every gymnast has to be herself,” said Marta Karolyi, the U.S. women’s team coordinator who, along with husband Bela, has coached Nadia Comaneci and Retton.

Still . . .

“There are some similarities,” Karolyi admitted. “Extremely big explosiveness. The joy of performing. The ability to perform, in front of people, in pressure situations.”

Plus, Johnson and Retton both are cute, and bubbly, and American, and genuine – and embracing of all that fame and success bring.

“I love speaking. I love the crowd,” Johnson said. “It comes with the sport. It comes with being a professional athlete.”

Fortunately, for her new corporate partners, there is even more.

“I want to be a person who little girls, athletes, everyone in the world, looks up to,” Johnson said.

“You see a little girl on the street, and she says, ‘I want to be like you’ . . . It was such an honor. It’s the greatest reward and feeling I’ve ever had.”

With that comes daunting responsibility.

“It definitely can be scary,” Johnson said. “It makes you think about, ‘If I was going to do this, would I want them to do it, too?’ “

That is music to her sponsors’ ears.

Already, Johnson’s image is on 12-packs of Coca-Cola, side-by-side with LeBron James and others, one of six athletes Coke chose to promote its “Bring Home the World” campaign, featuring collectable cans in five different languages.

Already, she is part of a commercial on NBC, in which she and tae kwon do world champion Steven Lopez promote the campaign.

Criteria for being one of the six athletes, according to Susan Stribling, a spokeswoman for Coca-Cola North America:

“Being connected with the values of Coca-Cola: Being real. Being genuine.”

Soon, anyone who is interested in judging that for themselves will have ample opportunity.

Today, in front of an assembled national throng, Johnson will present herself again at a scheduled media event, talking of her prospects and her recent inconvenience: She had to move her training 50 miles north, to Iowa State, after Chow’s gym was affected by the floodwaters that have turned the Midwest into a marsh.

Friday night, live, in the preliminaries, she will start the journey toward Beijing. Her efforts will be shown from 8 to 10 p.m. on Saturday on NBC.

Sunday night, from 7 to 9, on a live NBC broadcast of the women’s final, Johnson’s clear, bright star will likely ascend even further.

Agenda

What: U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team Trials

Where: Wachovia Center

When: Tomorrow, men’s preliminary all-around; Friday, women’s preliminary all-around; Saturday, men’s all-around final; Sunday, women’s all-around final.

TV: Finals will be broadcast live on NBC.

Event Web site: philadelphiausa.travel/teamtrials

Posted in: Gymnastics, Press, Shawn Johnson |