Olympian Shawn Johnson: Claiming More Than Gold

With the Olympics ready to kick off August 5th in Rio, the world will be watching the best of the best competing for gold.

It's easy to get caught up in the heat of the competition, and forget to look at the athletes as humans. We see highlight reels of the athletes training leading up to their time at the games, but often we don't see the personal struggles.

In a very honest video, Shawn Johnson opens up about her life, and the behind the scene pain she experienced.

Hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide watched as a 16-year-old Johnson won four medals including gold on the balance beam at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

At only 24 years of age, Johnson has a New York Times best-selling book, a business, a career in broadcast, and took home the coveted mirror ball trophy on ABC’s Dancing With The Stars.

After a two-year hiatus from competitive gymnastics, Shawn returned to training in 2010 in an effort to make the 2012 Olympic Team. Just weeks before Olympic Trials, she was forced to withdraw due to injury and retired from the sport.

In 2014, Johnson co-founded TheBodyDepartment.com, a site dedicated to offering an outlet where people can talk about body image, wellness, and fitness in a healthy way.

Sources: shawnjohnson.com