Shawn Johnson is Awesome

Yeah she’s only 4′9″ but let’s see you do this:
Sports Illustrated

That’s the chippy Ms. Johnson during her gold medal balance beam routine (click here for the the full story).

After Johnson secured a gold medal in these games, I guess it’s safe to say that the Coca-Cola curse is no curse at all.

I must admit that it is nice to see an American Olympic athlete live up to the corporate hype. Though I’m sure Coca-Cola preferred that she won all gold medals, Johnson with one gold and 3 silvers to her name still had a pretty good haul (we’re still holding our breath in the case of Bron-Bron).

Which brings us to the best part of her Olympic experience. So if you’re Shawn, you’ve spent countless hours in the gym: bleeding, sweating, crying, tumbling, falling, learning. Your folks have spent an inordinate amount of time and keish to keep the Olympic dream alive, according to this piece, Johnson’s parents,

…took out a line of credit on their home and have used that money over the years to cover travel expenses. The debt has made a dent in the family finances, but that’s a price parents seem willing to pay.

Yet for all that, the affable Ms. Johnson, in describing her gold medal, reminds us what the Olympics are all about, a childlike wonder and dreams fulfilled:

“It’s crazy,” the 16-year-old Johnson said. “I remember seeing Nastia have hers from the all-around and it is so pretty. Silver is really pretty, too.”

You’re awesome Shawn Johnson!