Quick Chat with Shawn Johnson

Inside Gymnastics talks to World Champ Shawn Johnson about her recent repeat U.S. National Title and her strategy as we head from Boston to Beijing, by way of Philadelphia …

Q: You debuted a new floor routine at USAs. How do you think it went?

A: I think my floor [in finals] was great. I need to work on my triple [twist] a little. I had too much power going into it, but I love my new routine and I love being able to perform it. It’s a lot of fun.

Q: What can you do better? You already look so good.

A: I think everybody here is striving for perfection, so just the little details. I mean, we [had] one week at home of hardcore training. I can’t wait for Olympic Trials.

Q: On TV at USAs you gave yourself an “A” grade so, at Trials, are you striving for an “A+?”

A: I definitely want an “A+” at Trials. I’d say I probably got an “A-” [at USAs]. Just those little details and stuff. They really hit home for me and that’s what means the most. That’s what I’ll be working on.

Q: What do you do before a meet? For instance, what did you do before finals at USAs?

A: We didn’t [go] to the gym, but I did a little workout in the fitness center, just to get warmed up.

Q: Do you sleep well before a big meet?

A: Umm, I never sleep too well the nights before competition. I’m pretty restless. I wake up every hour and stuff. But, that’s pretty normal. I’ve been like that ever since I started competing and I’m used to it. I find other ways to relax and get rest.

When I wake up, I’m just like, ‘Oh you need to get back to sleep.’ It’s not thinking about routines and stuff, just more needing to sleep.

Q: How do you feel physically?

A: Physically, I feel great. I feel ready for another competition. I think it’s just a whole adrenaline rush that’s gonna’ get started come next month, just the push for Beijing. We’re all starting to feel it a little and nothing is going to faze us. Nothing is going to affect us. We’re just ready to compete, ready to perform.

Q: Do you get nervous?

A: I get EXTREMELY nervous. I know people have said that you can’t see it, but I catch myself shaking. I catch myself getting a little overwhelmed. It’s just learning to control it.

I think all athletes do, just because we set such a high bar and we expect such perfection. There is no room for error, so we want everything to be perfect. It’s just our lifestyle. You get used to it.

Q: You’ve said Championships was just a “test drive,” but when a National title is on the line, does it become more than that?

A: A little. For [that] meet though, I honestly just went out and tried to think of it strictly as a test drive. All day [in finals], I don’t even know one of my scores. I didn’t pay attention to that. I didn’t pay attention to placement at all. I wanted to just feel my routines and think about what I could improve on.

Q: What was the high point of USAs for you, other than winning, obviously?

A: Probably my floor, just ’cause it’s my new routine and I haven’t really felt like it was mine yet—that it actually fit me. Being able to go out there and just have fun; [in finals] it really felt like my routine. I’m able to own it now. I liked it.

Q: Did the music glitch at the beginning affect you at all?

A: Yeah, they started my music a little late. You normally hear, like, a beep, so you know when to start and my starting count had already passed … It’s something that happens a lot. You have to get use to it. You can’t control the sound. I just stepped off the floor and calmed down and started over again.

I honestly didn’t care. It’s happened before. It happens at home. I cleared my mind and started my whole thought process over again, which is thinking of my routine and thinking of my first pass. I just didn’t let it faze me.

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