Gymnast Shawn Johnson expected to play well in prime time

By JIM SOUHAN - Star Tribune (Minneapolis) BEIJING -- Shawn Johnson is about the size of a whip of licorice, only more flexible. America's Next Sweetheart is 4 feet 9 and 90 pounds of ponytail, molar and sinew, and at age 16 has already become our country's best gymnast. So why did our most promising munchkin with muscles spend most of the summer thinking about water more often than Michael Phelps? Growing up in West Des Moines, Iowa, should offer a few perks. Like sweet corn, and immunity from floods of biblical proportion. "Oooh," she said Thursday, three days before her competition begins. "It was a mess." At age 6, Johnson walked into the no-frills gym founded by Liang Chow, a former Chinese national team co-captain who attended Iowa and started his business with three students in a West Des Moines industrial complex.... [read full story]