{"id":183290,"date":"2025-07-27T16:45:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T16:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/27\/why-shawn-johnson-went-pro-in-gymnastics-to-pay-bills\/"},"modified":"2025-07-27T16:45:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T16:45:12","slug":"why-shawn-johnson-went-pro-in-gymnastics-to-pay-bills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/27\/why-shawn-johnson-went-pro-in-gymnastics-to-pay-bills\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Shawn Johnson Went Pro in Gymnastics to ‘Pay Bills’"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Olympian Shawn Johnson East<\/strong><\/a> faced a tough choice at a young age \u2014 go pro in gymnastics or compete at the collegiate level.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember there was a huge discrepancy because I desperately wanted to compete in collegiate athletics,\u201d Johnson East, 33, said on the Sunday, July 27, episode of the \u201cSunday Sports Club\u201d podcast<\/a>. \u201cBut, because of money and paying off student debt and all these things, I ended up having to go professional, so I could pay bills.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added, \u201cThe fact that I even had to make that decision between going to college and getting a college education on top of competing and just going to work, it shouldn\u2019t have been an issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson East competed in the 2008 Olympic Games<\/a> when she was just 16 years old, earning a gold medal in the balance beam event and three other silver honors in other distinctions. She retired in 2012 ahead of the next Olympics following an injury.<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Shawn Johnson: 25 Things You Don’t Know About Me!<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tLife is all about balance \u2014 and Shawn Johnson knows that better than anyone! The Olympic gymnast, 31, won individual gold on balance beam and silver for her floor routine at the 2008 Olympic Games, taking home the silver medal with the rest of Team USA women\u2019s artistic gymnastics team for their performance in Beijing. [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The gold medalist initially started training as a young child.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the reasons I fell in love with gymnastics is [that] I found such a community of best friends and almost sisters in my teammates,\u201d Johnson East recalled to podcast host Allison Kuch<\/strong>. \u201cI loved going to the gym, and I loved hanging out with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Shawn Johnson during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.<\/span> Jamie Squire\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Johnson East also really enjoyed jumping on the trampoline, which quickly led to a more regular training routine.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did that for years. I did one or two classes a week,\u201d she recalled. \u201cAs it progressed, I then went on to do soccer on top of that. I tried track in middle school, [and] I danced. I did all these different things, so that was very, very normal in the context of, like, I wasn\u2019t disciplined. I would skip practices.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin’s History: Friendship, Rift and More<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tShawn Johnson East and Nastia Liukin started their gymnastics careers as friends, but competition nearly tore their bond apart. Johnson East and Liukin connected while training for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The women, who were teens at the time, made Team USA. Johnson East walked away from the games with one gold medal and [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

By the time Johnson East turned 12, her coach said that her practices were starting to get \u201cmore intense.\u201d<\/p>\n

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