Johnson was once billed as "the next Mary Lou," a fresh-faced kid from West Des Moines, Iowa, who could jump and dream.įamous is the story of Chow trying to get Johnson her first invitation to a national team training camp. It was a humbling experience this time around." But I feel like I succeeded as well," said Johnson, who listed making the Pan Am team after the knee injury as one of her proudest accomplishments. "It's weird, for the first time in my career I came up short. "That was a hard, hard thing," Chow said of watching Johnson struggle. She couldn't do the number of repetitions she needed, and there were days she couldn't even work out because the knee would be so swollen. But when she tried to increase her training over the last few months to get ready for London, her knee would not cooperate. She made the team for last year's Pan American Games, where she helped the Americans win the team gold. She had torn the ACL, MCL and meniscus, along with her hamstring, and it never returned to full strength. The long layoff would present enough of a challenge, but her knee made it that much more difficult. Her first stop after the doctor's office was her gym, where she and coach Liang Chow began plotting out her comeback. She left the door open to a return for a London, but it wasn't until the ski accident that she realized she still wanted to compete. She won " Dancing with the Stars" and, with her bubbly personality and girl-next-door looks, became a bona fide celebrity. The trio is headed to the Pan American Games in Guadalajara the week after Worlds.After winning four medals at the 2008 Games - only Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin and Nastia Liukin left Beijing with more - Johnson took the next two years off. Gunning for your spot, three world all-around champions: Shawn Johnson, Chellsie Memmel, and Bridget Sloan, who were all on the 2008 Olympic silver medal-winning team, too. So here's the test teens - you have less than one year until the Olympic Games and here is your chance to prove you can handle the pressure of a major international meet. Sabrina Vega (16) - a stylish gymnast, she finished fifth at Nationals in the all-around and is competent on all four events. Interesting that she edged out training-mate, 2008 Olympic all-around silver medalist Shawn Johnson. She had a disastrous Nationals, but is strong on bars (Team USA's weakest event) and is a capable all-arounder when she handles her nerves. Gabrielle Douglas (15) - she is eligible for Worlds by ONE DAY. McKayla Maroney (15) - she finished second in the all-around at Nationals and is a must-have at Worlds for her huge Amanar vault. Jordyn Wieber (16) - she was a lock as one of the top all-around contenders in Tokyo and oh, the U.S. Rounding out the women's team (and it is unclear who is the alternate), all first-year seniors: Her case for a spot on the team became a lot stronger when training-mate Mackenzie Caquatto injured both ankles on Monday at Selection Camp. Li did not have the best VISA Championships. This is a huge accomplishment for Li, 23, who graduated from UCLA before returning to elite gymnastics this season. The only other gymnast on the team who has been to a world championships - Sacramone's training-mate Alexandra Raisman, who competed at 2010 Worlds her first year senior. Sacramone, 23, is one of just two women with any world championship experience, something National Team Coordinator Martha Karolyi typically values. In a season when the 20-somethings seemed to be making a comeback, only veteran Alicia Sacramone and bars specialist Anna Li made the cut for the 2011 World Team.
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