Shawn Johnson East
đ€ SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
five cycles ago.
I don't know.
But I just so happened to turn 16 the year of my Olympics.
I mean, had I not been 16 that year, I would have had to have wait four more years.
If I, I mean, it's just like so many things have to align.
Not to say I wasn't good at gymnastics.
I was good at gymnastics, but everything else had to like line up perfectly.
Yeah.
I was tired.
I started competing professionally at 12.
And so I was doing â I was then trying to balance the scales as a 12-year-old between my love for gymnastics and now it was a job.
Whenever I would have to go work for the USA national team, it was a job.
I had to act like a professional USA, you know, flag bearer basically.
And I also had to balance being a 12-year-old.
I traveled â
to 20 some different countries by myself at 12.
And I got homesick.
And like, I just knew by the time I was done with the Olympics that I was just done.
I couldn't see myself doing four more years.
I was just tired.