CNN – Starting Point

U.S. Olympic Gold Medal Gymnast Shawn Johnson talks to CNN’s Soledad O’Brien on her fight to get on the U.S. team for the London Olympics.

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BigLeadSports

One of the highlights for the casual fan of any Olympiad is the gymnastics competition, and London 2012 should be no different. One of the American leaders in gymnastics will again be Shawn Johnson, who will look to grow the medal count she started in Beijing with a gold and silver.

This week Procter & Gamble gave Johnson a chance to help give back to one of her biggest supporters, her mom Teri, through their “Thank You Mom” program. All 800 mothers of Olympic and Paralympic athletes will get $1,000 Visa reward cards to help offset the cost of traveling to London for the upcoming Summer Olympics. The cards are a gift from Proctor & Gamble and part of the company’s campaign.

We caught up with Johnson to talk London 2012 and the unique way she has stayed grounded on her way to Olympic heights:

Gymnastics is known for its nomadic life for young girls. You are known for having as close to a normal teenage life as possible. How were you able to find that balance?

A lot of that had to do with my family, especially my parents. They knew I wanted to have a balanced social life and that I wanted to stay as grounded as possible. That’s why I stayed in school, went to other activities and tried to make sure that the experience I had in high school as a teenager was as close to what my friends were doing. Of course training and competition didn’t make it exactly the same but I would say compared to most girls in gymnastics at a high level I had as normal an upbringing as possible. It can work if you have the right family and friends. (read more)

Team Mom, Yahoo! Shine

U.S. gymnast Shawn Johnson is once again going for gold. And just like her previous attempts to achieve success in her sport, she knows that win or lose, there is one person who will always be cheering her on: her mom.

In the Procter & Gamble original video series, “Raising an Olympian,” Johnson talks about how her mom, Teri, provided her with constant motivation in her pursuit of a gold medal.

“My mom taught me from when I was little that you have to have a balance in life. If there’s something that you’re dedicated to, that you have to enjoy it,” says the 20-year-old athlete, who took home gold and silver medals in the 2008 Beijing Games, is a World Artistic Gymnastics champion, and won the mirror ball trophy on season eight of “Dancing with the Stars.” (read more)

FOXSports.com talks with Shawn Johnson as she eyes a comeback to the Olympics.

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