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" Every year I just kept going back to gymnastics, but I didn't start out training 10 hours a day. When I turned 10 or 11, I got more serious and I focused a lot on making it to the elite level, and from there I just kept going. "

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" It sounds funny, but the 2008 Olympics were something that just kind of happened, and I was lucky they came at a point when I was uninjured and well prepared. As a gymnast, you can't ask for much more. "

Shawn Johnson

Funny

Kind

" I didn't make it a priority, and as a result my knee didn't heal to the extent it should have. "

" In some ways the ACL tear was a blessing. I had hesitated to return to elite gymnastics after the 2008 Olympics. I told myself I had already accomplished so much, and the road was just going to get harder if I continued. "

" I have a healthy lifestyle, but there's nothing you can really do to prevent from rolling an ankle or something like that. "

Shawn Johnson

Nothing

Lifestyle

" The body is an amazing machine... If you eat the right things your body will perform incredibly well! "

" I have a lot of expectations and a lot of goals I want to fulfill, but the biggest dream is still to make the Olympic team for London. "

" Everything is about your movements and precision and timing, which is what gymnastics is about. "

" To have any doubt in your body is the biggest weakness an athlete can have. There are times when I physically can't get myself to go for a skill because I'm thinking, 'My knee hurts really bad.' "

" It's been strange and weird watching the other girls at the U.S. Olympic trials just because I was training to be out there myself. "

" When I was 3 my parents put me in gymnastics because I was a bundle of energy and they just didn't know what to do with me! They put me in a Tots class and I just fell in love with it. "

Shawn Johnson

Parents

Know

" People put too much emphasis on looks. "

" It's about putting in the hours and going through the paces. "

" I always have someone to look up to, and I think it helps me with motivating myself. "

" I missed being considered an athlete and having that competitive drive, and missed having something to work for every day. I'd taken two and a half years away from the sport and was out of shape. I wanted to get back to where I was in 2008. "

" I'm trying to stay as calm as possible and focus one day at a time, but when reality sets in, I feel everything: anxiety, excitement, nerves, pressure and joy. "

" We're taught at such a young age that you can always be better and that you're never perfect and that you're never good enough. "

" My coach, Liang Chow, had one rule while I was training for the 2008 Olympics: no skiing. I could do anything I wanted outside the gym, he said, except ski. "

" When I was younger, my coach, Liang Chow, made all the decisions. I would go to the gym for practice, do exactly what Chow told me to do, go home, come back and start all over again. If Chow told me to do 50 squat jumps, I did 50 squat jumps. "

Shawn Johnson

Home

" I know how much more I need to do to be where I want. "

Shawn Johnson

Know

Where

" I have a chaperone everywhere I go - my mom. "

Shawn Johnson

Mom

Everywhere

" I still can't believe I'm an Olympic athlete. "

" Retiring was scary and it was tough to give up gymnastics, but so many great opportunities have come from it that I never expected. "

Shawn Johnson

Opportunities

Tough

" I think about my goals. There were a lot of times in gymnastics when I really didn't want to go in and train, but you can't make it to the Olympics if you don't train! "

" I don't feel like a star; I never have. I don't feel like a star; I never have. I always feel like I'm the young one, I'm the small one. I always have someone to look up to, and I think it helps me with motivating myself. "

" To finish off this whole Olympics by finally getting the gold medal, it's the best feeling in the world. "

" Injury taught me I need to learn how to face challenges. "

Shawn Johnson

Challenges

Need

" I started taking gymnastic classes when I was 3 years old. "

" Staying healthy and consistent is paramount. "

" I was at the Olympic Games winning medals and I still doubted my image. I doubted what I looked like. That's sad. "

" I always feel like I'm the young one, I'm the small one. "