The waters in the flooded Midwest have finally stopped rising, but U.S. Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson certainly hasn't.
Shawn is 16 years old and is the reigning world champion in all-around gymnastics. She lives in West Des Moines, Iowa. When the Mississippi River overflowed its banks earlier this month, the gym where Johnson was going through her final practice flooded with about 12 inches of water. But with just a week to go before the Olympic trials started, Shawn rebounded quickly to stay on track.
Shawn got help from her coach, who told her that she could only do her best by keeping her spirits high. Then she trained in the gym at Iowa State University, almost 50 miles from her home, to keep in shape. Shawn says that, while at first she was scared, but that training in a place that wasn't hers actually made her stronger.
The champion's perseverance paid off-- big time. Johnson had the highest score of all the events combined in the Olympic trials with 127.65 points and made the team as part of the all-around squad. Team officials believe that when Johnson gets to Beijing, China in August, she'll play a big part in bringing the U.S.A a gold medal.
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