Quotes By Shawn Johnson

It might have been easier to retire, to say my knee couldn't handle it and let that be that. At the same time, the prospect of not being able to compete in gymnastics anymore was heartbreaking.

I've never had a teammate competing with me my whole life.

Something my mom taught me when I was little is that everything happens for a reason.

I need to learn how to face challenges.

In some ways the ACL tear was a blessing. I had hesitated to return to elite gymnastics after the 2008 Olympics. I told myself I had already accomplished so much, and the road was just going to get harder if I continued.

People put too much emphasis on looks.

I started from zero and went back to the basics in gymnastics.

I started taking gymnastic classes when I was 3 years old.

It's about putting in the hours and going through the paces.

I'm pleased to say my knee feels a lot better. It's still not back to normal, and I don't know if it ever will be, but I'm learning to deal with it instead of expecting it to be like it was before.

A typical practice consists of practicing every event for about an hour. A lot of people assume I have private coaching, but I work out with 13 other girls at the gym!

I didn't make it a priority, and as a result my knee didn't heal to the extent it should have.

I know how much more I need to do to be where I want.

I was able to do Classics, the U.S. national championships and the Pan American Games and feel like I improved with each meet, but I was still struggling with a lot of residual pain from the two surgeries.

It sounds funny, but the 2008 Olympics were something that just kind of happened, and I was lucky they came at a point when I was uninjured and well prepared. As a gymnast, you can't ask for much more.

I don't feel like a star; I never have. I don't feel like a star; I never have. I always feel like I'm the young one, I'm the small one. I always have someone to look up to, and I think it helps me with motivating myself.

Gymnastics taught me everything - life lessons, responsibility and discipline and respect.

I usually work out 4 hours a day during the week and 5 to 6 hours on Saturday, with Sundays off.

Of course, when you're training your whole life to get to the Olympics, you train for gold.

I always have someone to look up to, and I think it helps me with motivating myself.

My other life keeps me calm and grounded and normal.

I live for Pilates reformer class. I go at least three times a week. It's a great way to lengthen your muscles, stretch, and kind of relax your mind.

I have a chaperone everywhere I go - my mom.

Gymnastics is so complex.

Retiring was scary and it was tough to give up gymnastics, but so many great opportunities have come from it that I never expected.

We're taught at such a young age that you can always be better and that you're never perfect and that you're never good enough.

I missed being considered an athlete and having that competitive drive, and missed having something to work for every day. I'd taken two and a half years away from the sport and was out of shape. I wanted to get back to where I was in 2008.

Everything is about your movements and precision and timing, which is what gymnastics is about.

I still can't believe I'm an Olympic athlete.

I have a healthy lifestyle, but there's nothing you can really do to prevent from rolling an ankle or something like that.