Shawn Johnson Gymnastics Quotations

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.

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.

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

After 13 years of hard landings in gymnastics, one ski run had delivered the biggest injury of my career.

Gymnastics has made me strong. I feel like it broke me down to my lowest point, but at the same time, it has given me the greatest strength anyone could ask for.

When I was 3 my parents put me in gymnastics because I was a bundle of energy and they just didn't know what to do with me! They put me in a Tots class and I just fell in love with it.

Gymnastics is so complex.

A comeback in gymnastics is almost impossible in itself.

Something my mom taught me when I was little is that everything happens for a reason. Retiring was scary and it was tough to give up gymnastics, but so many great opportunities have come from it that I never expected. And those wouldn't have happened had I not accepted my injury as a way to try something new.

People only see gymnastics on TV and in the Olympics at such an extreme. So it can be intimidating.

If you lose the nerves, you lose the sport.

When it comes to gymnastics, you can be 30 points ahead going into that competition, but on that day, it's all about luck. It's about who has a good day, who stays healthy, it's how happy the judges are that day, there are so many different factors.

My approach to gymnastics in Beijing was heavily based on the amount of difficulty I could do.

I'm doing four hours of gymnastics training a day, six days a week and then an extra two to three hours in a fitness center as well.

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

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

I think about my goals. There were a lot of times in gymnastics when I really didn't want to go in and train, but you can't make it to the Olympics if you don't train!

I fell in love with gymnastics. I love what I do now. I work with people that I love to be around. Success comes from that.

Gymnastics is not only a good thing to live by, but it is important to understand how it does help you in life.

I don't call them sacrifices. I call them exchanges.

I don't think I've ever not gotten nervous. When you work so hard for one special day or routine, you want to perform it better than you ever have. We always say at our gym, If you lose the nerves, you lose the sport.

Image isn't everything, It's what comes from your heart, and what you learn and what you say and how you act that means more than anything.

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

As long as you've done your best, making mistakes doesn't matter. You and I are human; we will mess up. What counts is learning from your mistakes and getting back up when life has knocked you down.