Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Positively Beaming

The US Golden girl is finally golden. Shawn Johnson has won gold on the beam. Not the gold that she may have wanted but a gold none the less. For a while it looked like the projected superstar for the US Gymnastics Team may have had to settle for only silver as she continued to fall just short of gold in every event. I started to really feel for this young girl who was so highly touted to be draped in gold by this point of the games. She fell short in the Team All Around. She was beaten out by teammate Nastia Lukin in the All Around and grabbed yet another silver in the Floor Exercise. I was rooting hard for this athlete who came in with so much pressure on her (legitimately)16 year old shoulders. After each blow that she took she always had those big eyes and that huge smile and a hug for a teammate or fellow competitor. Sure 2nd is a huge accomplishment but gold is gold. She is now one of the most decorated Olympians in US Gymnastics and the gold just helps solidify that. To be able to stay as focused, through all the disappointment and to come through in her last event was what the Olympic games are supposed to be about. Determination, perseverance and excellence. Way to Go Shawn!

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