[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 24040]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO SHAWN JOHNSON

 Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, on Tuesday Iowa gymnast Shawn 
Johnson and her USA teammates won the gold at the Gymnastics World 
Championships in Germany.
  Shawn is a native of West Des Moines, IA, where she has trained in 
gymnastics with Coach Liang Chow since the age of six. How did this 
young girl from Iowa become a world champion gymnast? I think it may 
have been said best by her coach in an interview with the Des Moines 
Register earlier this week. Coach Chow said Shawn, ``loved gymnastics. 
She loved to work out. She wanted to learn, and to get better.''
  It is that love for what she does that carried Shawn to be crowned 
National Champion in San Jose, CA, two weeks ago, and carried her even 
higher to win the World Championship this week. I hope that Shawn's 
dedication to this sport will inspire many others to achieve greatness 
within their respective fields as well.
  It is with great Iowa pride that I offer my sincere congratulations 
to Shawn Johnson for her accomplishments.

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