By Juliet Macur, The New York Times

BEIJING — In her final chance for a gold medal at these Olympics, Shawn Johnson hopped up on the balance beam and sparkled in her blue and red leotard.

Three times, she had finished second at these Games. But for Johnson, the 16-year-old with the blinding smile, that would not be enough.

So she buried her disappointment and hit her routine, sticking to the beam on each landing, as if her feet had glue on them. Afterward, she hugged her competitors from China, then waited for the final two gymnasts to perform.

Neither of them would score higher than Johnson’s 16.225.

On the arena floor, Johnson melted into her coach, Liang Qiao, for a big bear hug. She had dreamed of giving him a gold medal here in his hometown and finally, on the last day of gymnastics competition, she had done it.

“I could tell by the way that he hugged me and the look on his face that he was more proud of me than he’s ever been,” she said. “I really feel like I made him proud.”

Johnson, a sparkplug of a gymnast from West Des Moines, Iowa, already had three silver medals from this Olympics before competing Tuesday, the last day of gymnastics competition.  Her goal Tuesday was to climb that last step and win the gold.

“You don’t train for silver,” she said last week.

Still, Johnson kept smiling through the next several days, as her Olympics came to a close.

Though she had considered retiring after these Olympics, the joy she has felt here has enticed her to stick around for another four years, she said.

Posted in: Gymnastics, Liang Qiao, Press, Shawn Johnson |