Shawn Johnson brings her inspiring story to Northwest

When Olympic gold and silver medalist Shawn Johnson spoke to a packed house of Northwest students and young gymnastics students on Wednesday, she did not focus on the price of fame, her knee injury or her stalking scare last year. They were interested in the important things: does she have a boyfriend? What foods does she eat? What was her favorite dance on "Dancing with the Stars?"

The always sunny 18 year-old world-renowned gymnast and reality television sweetheart drew excitement throughout the Ron Houston Center as she told stories about competing in Beijing, winning millions of votes on "Dancing with the Stars" and growing up in Iowa.  While her lecture was fairly short, the questions from the students did not want to stop, which shows how Johnson has captured the imagination and interest of students and aspiring gymnasts.

"I never fail to get nervous when I do these," Johnson told the crowd, flashing her signature smile.  "I think the majority of you are older than me."

Johnson said that she was always an active child, and did many sports, but gymnastics was her absolute favorite.  Her parents would catch her climbing furniture and diving off tables, and at three years old they decided to point her energy in the direction of gymnastics.

She attended public school, but her life after classes was very different than most children.  Instead of going to parties and hanging out after school, her attentions and energy were pointed to the gym.  She also had to deal with some awkwardness that gymnastics brought.

"It didn't help that my name was Shawn," Johnson said. "They were like ‘you have a boy's name and your muscles are bigger than mine.'"

Instead of going to prom and parties, Johnson was becoming a world-class gymnast.  In 2008, when the Olympics came and she was selected to be a part of the U.S. team, she was only 16.  When asked about her favorite moment at the Olympics, everyone in the crowd thought it was winning the gold medal for the balance beam.  It was not.

Going into Beijing, Johnson was hyped by the media to be the one to beat.  She was supposed to win every event she was in, and she was under the microscope of the world. 

Fast forward to her floor event, Johnson was in 8th place.  She then calculated in her head the exact score she needed to get the gold, and while it was a long shot, she knew she could do it.  As she watched the other gymnast miss the gold mark, she got more and more confidence.  She had a chance.

Next came Nastia Liukin, another world-class gymnast from Russia. As Johnson watched her "amazing" routine, she knew she had some competition.  Right before she was ready to perform, Liukin's score popped up.  She was a point above what Shawn had calculated.  The gold was now impossible to achieve.

"I remember thinking ‘what now? You've disappointed your country, you were supposed to be the girl, should I just give up?" Johnson said.  "I kind of quickly snapped out of it and said ‘it doesn't matter, you have to finish what you started.'"

Johnson wanted to prove that whether it was second place or last place, she deserved to be there and she wanted to show that she was the best.

"It was the best routine I've ever done in my life," Johnson told the crowd. "I hit every landing, I stuck ever pose, everything was perfect, and I remember I finished my last pose just bawling."

From there Johnson told about her experiences in becoming a celebrity.  She was able to experience not watching her diet when going on a gymnastics tour, she had a cameo on a TV show, she won "Dancing with the Stars," sponsors and foundations all wanted a part of her. 

Through all of it, Johnson slowly began to "lose herself." She was not doing the sport that she loved anymore, and she was flying all over, when she did not see what they saw in her.

"It took me two years to figure out who I was," Johnson said.  "Everywhere I went, people asked me the same question."

That question was whether she was going to go back to the Olympics in 2012 in London.  For two years, she gave the same answer: she did not know.  A different answer came when one day she was speaking to a group of fourth graders.

"After I finished my speech, a little boy screamed at the top of his lungs, ‘are you going back Shawn? We really want to see you,'" Johnson said. "And I don't know what it was, but all of a sudden it clicked and I remember I grabbed the mike from the MC and I was like ‘you know what, I'm going back, I'm going to give it a try, I'm going to go for London.'"

Ever since then, Johnson has devoted her full time to training. Six days a week, at least 7 hours a day, trying to get back to form for 2012.  The odds however are against her.

"No one's ever been successful in a gymnastics comeback, ever in history," Johnson said.  "I kind of have the odds against me, but ever since that moment, I've been me again. I'm happier, I'm healthier, I'm loving every day."

Johnson then answered questions for close to a half hour; so many that they had to deny some questions do to time constraints.  The turnout on Wednesday showed that Johnson will have a huge amount of support on her quest for London, and win or lose, qualifying or not qualifying, she will still have fans that love her.