San Jose, Calif. – Round one in the duel between America’s blossoming gymnastics darling and the veteran she seems to be in the process of succeeding went to the fresh face Thursday night.
Riding momentum from a sensational performance at the Pan Am Games last month, 15-year-old Shawn Johnson of Des Moines, Iowa, took command on the first night of women’s competition at the U.S. championships.
Nastia Liukin, who won the all-around at the past two U.S. championships – and claimed a silver medal in all-around at the 2005 world championships – had a bad night and stands fifth midway through the competition.
Liukin, 17, rolled her right ankle four days before last year’s world championships. She still won a silver medal in uneven bars but had surgery to remove bone chips. She came into this event fearing people were counting her out because she hadn’t competed since last October – and Johnson is the hot new star.
Johnson won gold medals in the all-around, balance beam and uneven bars at the Pan Am Games.
“It feels good, but I don’t want to think about it too much,” Johnson said of her sizable lead. “We still have a whole other day and you never know what to expect. … I try not to think about winning.”
Liukin took the lead on the first rotation after scoring 15.6 on balance beam, but Johnson overtook her with a 15.75 on the beam in the second rotation. Liukin fell further behind on the third rotation when she fell on the vault while Johnson put together a nearly flawless floor exercises routine. Liukin also fell on her last routine, an otherwise impressive uneven bars performance.
Johnson gave the appearance of an athlete impervious to pressure.
“Honestly I’m not that comfortable,” Johnson said. “I’m very nervous. Before the beam I was a little shaky, but I try before my routine to shake (nerves) away and do my best. I think I did.”
Results will weigh heavily in selections for the team that will compete in the world championships Sept. 2-9 in Stuttgart, Germany, but discretion will be involved as well.
Competition continues tonight with the conclusion of the men’s events, when Morrison’s Alexander Artemev will be attempting to defend the all-around title he won last year. Artemev is tied for first with David Durante.
