In Shawn Johnson East’s first gymnastics competition at age 5, she finished dead last and she was ecstatic. That was the first of many times in her competitive career when she realized that effort, hard work and doing what you love are more important than winning.
It’s a valuable lesson reinforced by her long-time coach Liang Chow, an elite Chinese gymnast who immigrated to the U.S. to open his own gym in her hometown of West Des Moines, Iowa.
An Olympian and U.S. team captain at age 16, Shawn shared her Olympic journey with the ‘Berg community Wednesday as the keynote speaker for this year’s second HYPE Career Ready Day. At the Beijing Summer Olympic Games in 2008, Shawn said she felt the weight of the world on her shoulders with big expectations to bring home four gold medals.
Teaching her balance and allowing Shawn to have a life outside of gymnastics, her coach always stressed one rule: “Competition is not about medals or scores. It’s about how you feel at the end of the day when you look into the mirror.” For that reason, she never allowed her to watch the scoreboard.
But going into the fourth apparatus in the all-around competition in Beijing, for the first time, Shawn took a peek at the scoreboard, quickly did the math and realized that it was impossible for her to win gold. That caused an inner conflict that led her to question herself.
“Bob Costas was telling the world I had failed because I was coming in second at something I was supposed to be the best at. Wheaties and Coke and Nike were all telling me I had to win gold as an All-American,” Shawn said. “My heart just sank. I felt I had let everyone down already.”
But during the typically difficult floor routine, the pressure had somehow lifted; Shawn felt “absolutely weightless.” She performed a flawless routine in what she called the single most liberating moment she experienced as an athlete.
“That was the first routine I ever did that was 100 percent for myself. No medal and no score could beat this moment,” Shawn said. She finished with a silver medal. “I was fine with that. I had done my best. I felt great … on top of the world.”
But her joy was short-lived. She was conflicted after the medal presenter apologized and an interviewer asked her how it felt to lose. “Those comments made me feel like crap. I had put all my worth and purpose into gymnastics and I felt like what I was hearing was that I was a failure as a human being.”
Her parents and her coach sent a different message – they were extremely proud of her. “Looking back,” Shawn said, “that silver medal was the greatest moment of my life. I ended up winning gold (in the balance beam) and wishing it was silver.”
Ultimately, it’s not about scores and medals, she told the ‘Berg students. “It’s about how you feel.”
As they contemplate their careers, Shawn encouraged students to determine what they love, find passion for it and work hard at it.
“I don’t believe you should always be doing what you’re best at. You should be doing what you love. If you’re doing something you’re good at for comfort, quit it today and go do what you love.”
Learn more about the HYPE Career Ready Program.