This routine could still win gold today, easily. Shawn really had such a big impact in gymnastics and it’s crazy how it’s overlooked. And funny how she was outcasted as the muscly gymnast and now look at gymnasts today. Shawn really paved the way!
Kim Zmeskal, Brandy Johnson, and Kerri Strug were also powerhouse gymnasts that popularized the style. Daniela Silivas, Lavinia Milosovic, and Mary Lou Retton can’t be forgotten❤❤❤.
She’s done a video about this on her channel but she said that at that moment she’d done like 8 full practice sets in the warm up gym before competing that routine. Chow had her do them to make her brain turn off, she said. It’s insane to think that muscle memory won her an Olympic gold medal
Eric Schmid thats how elite athletes were trained. You cant second guess a tiny bit in any of your elements, you need to attack each elements in a precise manner like a robot it should be done automatically specially during an Olympic event.
@maseratic boychik you do realize you completely, baselessly attacked a completely different person, right? That wasn't the first person you needlessly attacked- that was someone else. Idk why you're so bitter and miserable that you have to bully strangers in the internet, but i hope things get better for you.
Liu Xuan apparently did the same thing before her 2000 BB EF routine. It was totally muscle memory at work. She had said she just wasn't thinking by then.
Shawn was the most popular foreign gymnast amongst Chinese fans during the 2008 Games due to her coach, her humbleness towards the hosts, and also her bubbly personality.
@@nightflyer3242 Yeah! I think Nastia always looked more intimidating. In their video where they rewatched the Olympics, they talked about how scary Nastia's RBF was haha. Shawn definitely has a warmer vibe and you just wanna like her.
@@BusyBeeStitcherymaybe if someone can execute it nicely, it might look pretty. But I agree every time I see a wolf turn it just looks so awkward and haphazard. Just not pretty.
@@temidawodu porqué? No sé si tiene elementos que ya no se pueden usar ahora? Porque realmente he visto tantas competiciones pero ninguna rutina supera esta, ni las actuales. La gimnasia en Beijing qué nivel, tuvo de las puntuaciones más altas que he visto en juegos olímpicos superior a 16.000 no solo en una gimnasta sino en varias.
I blacked out at my first kendo competition, shit myself and threw up before my match. It was a tiny arena and only a couple hundred people. IMAGINE THE OLYMPICS. Televised and judged by the masses. I’d die
The thing I like the most about Shawn is she always smiled when she competed like she actually enjoyed what she was doing. Other gymnasts looked very tense.
Would you expect an archer to be smiling? or a high jumper? Or a sprinter? They're young, but they are fierce competitors and fierce, strong athletes who require intense focus. If they don't focus, they land on their heads and break their necks. Women and girls don't need to smile all the time. They are not there for other's entertainment.
I think Shawn Johnson had the biggest influence on Simone Biles beam style. They are not identical but at their best they share some of the same strengths and challenges in terms of artistry. What I appreciate about Shawn is they way she makes it seem like she is in floor, not a flinch.
@@maia9056 nobody said anything made her different, but are we not allowed to praise and appreciate one specific person when they do something awesome?
1:10 - my favorite part of her routine, even more than her opening tumbling series. Seeing her control of it is just amazing. Elfi has always said that this move reflects whether a gymnast is nervous or confident, so seeing Shawn do it so perfectly really shows that she was feeling centered despite the crazy amount of pressure she was under.
I love the way her competitors and their coaches congratulate her. If you watch old stuff from the 70s you can see the Soviets and Romanians in the same situation, just plain ignoring one another...
I think there may have been some history too in those time... as even though Romania was in the eastern block they did not really appreciate the Soviets (no one really did). This obviously came out in sports too where they were competitors, especially in team sports....:)
They did not speak a common language and were not really allowed to talk or do much. Solo as have an interview recently and said as much. It was a different world.
I love how strong yet elegant she looks on beam, and with such grace as well, and the fact that everything she does is so smooth just makes the routine 10x better
Thank you!! So many people complain that she wasn’t elegant, but this was elegance at its finest. Not a waver, unnecessary and silly looking arm waving or anything- just calm and collected element presentation.
You can tell a gymnast that has been trained by chow their beam is difficult and has solid tumbling the full twist is impressive her and gabbys routines are chow’s genius
The smile, joy and sheer admiration of her coach is so cute. I've lost count of how many times I've watched this routine. Both her and nastia are amazing gymnasts.
I'm so happy she got a gold. She said she was prepared to get a silver b/c she kept getting them (team, AA, floor), but she's so good at this event, and that triple tumble is like her signature move and is just so fun to watch! The craziest thing is she was a FT high school student and trained only 26h/week (65% of Nastia's 40hr).
Truly one of the best beam routines in history I just always seem to come back to this routine and watch it to ease my mind. It's perfection in motion.
Rewatching this young "child" it's hard to wrap my head around the fact that she's married and very, very soon will be the mother of two little ones of her own.
I know scoring is different these days, and thr capabilities of today's athletes are still outstanding and insane. But theres judt something so satisfying about watching old gymnastics videos. They performed the skills so cleanly and fluidly (which must have required more training and caused extra stress), whereas today i feel like moves are okay to be a bit disjointed (not sure if this is the right word). The old way of performing is more visually appealling.
This kid had SO much pressure on her. The publicity before he olympics was insane. She was just so cute and it was all about how she was going to win every gold there was to win.
Absolute queen 👑 wow her confidence is so powerful. Watch how much hands free tumbling she does with ease like she’s flying and has complete control on that beam. So impressive at 16 years old. Shawn is an icon 💖
This was such a nice event. All that genuine sportsmanship is great to see in competition. Chinese and American competitors looking happy to be there and supporting each other. Amazing!
It’s been more than 10 yrs since I first watched this but it’s still funny to me how Shawn and Chow give off the same warm and friendly vibe while Nastia and her dad give off the same serious and focused vibe😂
The sound of her landing on the beam. Oddly satisfying actually. The power of her feet landing on the beam. This is actually my favorite routine in Woman's Gymnastics along with the Uneven Bars.
Who came here after her Gold Medal Unboxing video? I have so much respect for her after she said that she was sick just before she competed for the Beam Final and she still secured her gold. Amazing woman.
Shawn and suni lee this year had similar balance beam routine I have noticed. Well meaning when Shawn Johnson did hers back in 2008 I mean suni lee was kind of similar to Shawn Johnson’s from 2008 Olympics.
I am in awe anytime so watch a beam routine. How did she do that back flip with a twist and land back on the beam. It just doesn’t even make sense...just amazing concentration, power, and body control.
I bet she could win a medal with that routine in 2021. A lot of stuff has changed so much, but the beam is so hard, there are only so many things you can do on it and it is so easy to fall off. I bet she could medal with that routine right now. (I mean if you took her routine from then and put it now; I don't think Shawn could set her baby down and get up and do that routine and win a medal right now).
watching her and nastia lukin i'm like wow beams were so solid in 2008, i feel like this year all the girls were putting in super difficult elements and then wobbling or not landing them. simone biles was the only person to be very solid the whole time on beam, and i know it was a less difficult routine but it was kind of nicer to see...
What I love about Shawn is her sportsmanship. She smiles and hugs the other competitors with respect. I remember watching Mckayla after she finished vault and how she let her disappointment sour her interaction with everyone. How can a person be THAT upset when you are at the Olympics and ranked 2nd best in the world? I know its everyone's dream for gold, but realistically one can only hope to qualify and maybe make the podium.
Karen Lm she was upset with herself more than anything else since she made what was, for her, a stupid mistake and was supposed to win easily otherwise. But most of the U.S. gymnasts, from what I've seen, are pretty good with what you're talking about with Shawn. My favorite scene was from the all-around in 2016 when Simone Biles and Aly Raisman, who were obviously going 1-2, were arm-in-arm in a huge hug as the scores came up--wouldn't let go of each other.
Karen I agree with what you are saying but to be at this level I don’t think they can have the mindset of ‘realistically I can only hope for the podium’ because if they felt that they wouldn’t be there. Every competitor (accept maybe a few outliers) have to have the mentality of I want to be the absolute best to get to the top level, it’s talked about again and again the winning mentality. There are examples in sports like in ice dance where 1 and 2 was settled, everyone knew that two specific teams were going to get 1 and 2, but there was a team who came fourth who talked about their mentality and they were still going for gold, they wanted gold even though they weren’t going to get it. So while some athletes can be lovely in their interactions even when they don’t win and should be celebrated for it, I think everyone needs to understand what these athletes have put into their sport. Most of the time they don’t have a life outside of it, so when they fall short of gold they feel like they lost, even if they got silver because that wasn’t their goal (apologies for the essay)
Karen Lm I’m 100 percent fine with McKayla’s reaction. She was unbeatable without a fall. Not many gymnast can say that in an event final. It be like Simone getting silver in AA.
Appaddict01 omg could you imagine Simone getting silver?!?? And yeah I agree, but I still think we should celebrate athletes when they don’t let their disappointment stop them from congratulating someone else. Like the video of the 100m hurdles in London when sally Pearson won, Dawn Harper who was trying to defend her title from Beijing and she lost by .2 of a second straight away, without blinking, without official confirmation that she got second was so happy for Pearson and was already congratulating her. And I know the other American who came in third was doing the same. That race just felt like an amazing moment of sportmanship
