USA Olympic gold medalist and Dancing With The Stars' Shawn Johnson, was on hand for a meet and greet at the Golden State Gym in Burbank, Calif. today to spread the news about the tour.
In person, I was equally taken with the mature and smiley 17-year-old. I was of course expecting her to be tiny, as most of the gymnasts are, but at only 4 feet 10 inches, I felt pretty tall for a change, which doesn't happen very often since I'm 5'2. As expected, her legs meanwhile were pure muscle, like a racehorse, I couldn't stop staring at the sheer strength of them.
At the gym, Shawn talked with the enthusiastic young gymnasts in cute leotards, watched them perform routines, clapped in encouragement and even challenged them at a headstand contest (I'm sure there's a more technical term for it though).
While there, I learned that Shawn got started in the sport at only age three and that she didn't think the Olympics was a reality but at age 12 she qualified for state and onward she went.
As you probably know, Shawn won the gold medal last year for the women's balance beam and also earned three silver medals in the team, floor exercise and individual all-around categories. Raphael and I were glued to the TV for the gymnastics portion last summer, which was new to me as I'm mainly a winter Olympics fan, but I was definitely taken with Shawn and the entire US team's achievement over China.
“The key to my success has been hard work, determination, and the support of my mentors and coaches,” said Shawn. “The Lunchables Lunch Your Tummy Right Tour inspires kids to achieve success – and have fun while doing it! I’m looking forward to sharing some of my stories with kids across the country.”
When asked why Dancing with the Stars she responded that she was always a fan of the show. She also said that after the Olympics she was wondering what to do next because she wanted a break from gymnastics as she's never had a break until now. Then, the show actually called her to participate after she mentioned in an interview that she was a fan. She's now a finalist in Dancing with the Stars and was wearing a black Livestrong-like wristbands that read Shawn and Mark with the phone number to vote.
Best of all, we took a pic together on the balance beam:
Shawn will make special appearances at select tour stops to share stories about how to achieve your personal best and follow your dreams. The tour is open to all ages and will be free of charge, so if there's a stop by you, do bring your kids, nieces, nephews or just grab some random child so you can meet Shawn too ;)
Note: Oscar Mayer Lunchables is a Weber Shandwick Chicago client, however, I do not work on the account or event, just attended with other bloggers like SoCalMom and SweatPantsMom, whose beautiful young daughters by the way were taller than both Shawn and I, lol.
I am jealous beyond words. I used to be a gymnast and it has remained my first love to this day so I am just over the moon excited about seeing these photos. You must have had an amazing time!
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ReplyDeleteI think those were handstands and not headstands because technically, they were standing on their hands and their heads were not touching the ground. I was bad at doing both handstands and headstands when I was in jazz class. But I could pull off a split like nobody's business!
ReplyDeleteSuch a cute picture. She looks adorable!
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