The Olympic gold medalist recollects what led to her and her fellow 2008 Workforce USA gymnastics alum almost decade-long rift.
Shawn Johnson is opening up a few tough patch in her friendship with fellow Olympic gymnast Nastia Liukin.
Whereas taking part in Entry Hollywood’s Behind the Easel video sequence, which was posted to the present’s YouTube channel on Monday, the Olympic gold and three-time silver medalist detailed what led to her and Liukin not talking for eight years following their time competing on Workforce USA gymnastics on the 2008 Summer time Olympics in Beijing.
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“Nastia and I have been greatest mates, coaching, and on the Olympics we have been roommates. We have been 16 and 18 years outdated. We have been youngsters,” recalled Johnson, now 32. “I felt like we have been below the highlight and scrutiny a lot to be one another’s prime, greatest rivals, and we had discovered on the competitors flooring the best way to be greatest mates and rivals.”
“However when the world began form of interjecting how we must always deal with it, they mentioned we also needs to be one another’s worst enemies as nicely,” she continued, including, “So we did not communicate for eight years.”
The Dancing with the Stars Mirrorball champion mentioned she and Liukin reconciled years later after their companions on the time stepped in.
“Our boyfriends on the time received so uninterested in listening to us speak about one another, that they mentioned, ‘Sufficient of this, simply go discuss to one another once more,’ and we did,” Johnson recalled. “And ever since then, it is simply been like we have not skipped a beat. We’re one another’s greatest mates, greatest supporters and we simply love one another.”
Trying again at their reconciliation, the skilled athlete mentioned it was “superb,” but additionally “a bit complicated for each of us as a result of we have been actually nervous as a result of we did not know the best way to rekindle that.”
Johnson mentioned she and Liukin met up in New York and had lunch collectively. “And actually inside two minutes, we have been again to being greatest mates,” she defined. “We each mentioned the identical factor of like, ‘I do not know what occurred, however I miss you and I miss us.’ And it has been that manner ever since.”
Each Olympians — who retired from gymnastics in 2012 — supplied commentary and made appearances on the 2024 Paris Olympics over the summer season, with Johnson being an official correspondent for Yahoo! Sports activities.
Johnson was additionally joined by her husband, Andrew East, and their three youngsters: Drew, 4, Jett, 3, and Bear, 9 months, throughout her journey, and documented their adventures in Paris on social media.
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