Two years ago gymnast Shawn Johnson shredded her knee in a freak skiing accident and now less than one year after she began an improbable comeback the former Olympian has announced her retirement ahead of the 2012 London Olympics.
The 20-year-old three-time world championship gold medal holder who also captured one gold and three silver medals at the Olympics four years ago announced her retirement from the sport on Sunday. Johnson leaves the sport as one of the most decorated gymnasts in U.S. history.
Speaking to the Des Moines Register Johnson said of her decision:
“I still have every ounce of desire and passion to stick with it. But my body isn’t allowing it.”
Johnson announced her retirement from gymnastics just four weeks before the Olympic trials were set to start on July 1. Johnson told the publication that her presence at those trials would have been a distraction.
In May the former Olympic champion spoke at the U.S. Olympic media summit in Dallas, Texas where she revealed her desire to either attend Vanderbilt or Standford in 2013.
While Shawn Johnson will not compete during the 2012 London Olympics she will still be in attendance for the event where she will appear on behalf of her Olympic sponsors.
Johnson has bee one of the United States’ most viable Olympians for sponsorship rights, keeping her name in the media through endorsements and a victory on the highly rated ABC dance competition show Dancing With The Stars.
Are you surprised by Shawn Johnson’s retirement from gymnastics?