Former Gymnast Shawn Johnson Recalls 2008 Olympics: ‘Greatest Honor of My Life’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Former gymnast Shawn Johnson had the incredible experience of participating in the 2008 Beijing Olympics where she earned one gold medal and three silver medals.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Johnson ruminated on her time at the game.
“It was the greatest honor of my life at the time,” she said.
“Being able to wear the red, white and blue, seeing the flag be lowered, hearing the anthem, put your hand over your chest,” she added. “It was this moment I had dreamt of my whole life. And being able to do that not just for myself, but for my coaches and my team and our country, it was a really special moment. It felt very special.”
Johnson will return to the Olympics this summer in Paris but as a spectator and with her kids and husband, Andrew.
“We’ve been actually researching the games, and I’m crazy enough to be taking all three of my kids and our family over there, but the opening ceremonies on the river this year is something I’ve never heard of or seen,” she told NBC Insider. “I think it’s going to really, really special, so I’m really excited to see [it]. It’s also open to the public as well which is wild.”
She’s excited to cheer on her fellow gymnasts as well.
“I feel like it’s such a small world that I know the girls through a couple degrees of separation,” she said. “I’m an old has-been. I’m not in it anymore, but I will be there cheering for them and will be the one saying, ‘No matter what you do, you’ve done an incredible job.’ They’re superhuman, and I’m just cheering them on.”
These Olympics come at a time when interest in women’s sports is at an all-time high. Movieguide® reported:
Caitlin Clark might not have performed the way she wanted to for her WNBA debut with the Indiana Fever, but the athlete garnered 2.12 million viewers on ESPN2.
This is a remarkable feat because ESPN2 viewership rarely ever exceeds ESPN primetime, which featured an NHL playoff game during the same time.
Clark’s debut game also “topped ESPN’s previous mark of nearly 1.5 million viewers for a Phoenix Mercury-Connecticut Sun game on May 22, 2004, in Diana Taurasi’s rookie season.”
“Me, as a mother to a daughter, I’m so excited. I don’t know what it means in particular. I just love that women’s sports are getting the attention they deserve,” Johnson said.
“I think every athlete, male or female, that works their entire life to get to the Olympic Games deserves a platform and the attention that they worked for,” she added. “I think being able to go into these Olympic Games with that shared excitement across all platforms, both genders, I think is really, really cool.”
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