ENCORE: Olympic Gymnast Shawn Johnson Visits Westridge Elementary School

Olympic gold-medal gymnast Shawn Johnson and her mother Teri Johnson of West Des Moines visited Westridge Elementary School Tuesday to promote a contest for moms sponsored by Bounty.

Shawn provided a gymnastic lesson in a living room scape prepared by Bounty. 

Johnson won three silvers and one gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Games, but faces an uphill trek to London for this summer’s Olympics, reports the Des Moines Register. She took time away from gymnastics competition to win on the “Dancing With the Stars” TV show in 2009, then injured a knee while skiing the following year.

“Training’s going good,” Johnson told the newspaper. “It’s very difficult, but I’m getting through.”

Next up for Johnson is the U.S. Classic in Chicago on May 26, the final qualifying event for the national championships June 7-10 in St. Louis, the Register said. Then come the U.S. Olympic Trials in San Jose, Calif., at the end of June. The Olympics run July 27-Aug. 12.

The Johnsons are part of a campaign by Bounty called the “Mess Behind the Glory” Contest, according to a news release. The contest asks moms everywhere to share their “Bring It” stories and photos capturing the playful acrobatic moments in the home that sometimes have messy results.

The contest, which kicked off on Tuesday, April 24, asks moms to share 60- to 90-second videos describing their child's athletic dreams and how they let them “Bring It”! According to the news release, the Johnsons will help select the ten most inspiring stories and, in addition to an Olympic Games viewing party, they will also receive a year’s worth supply of Bounty and a $5,000 grant to help their children reach their goals in the form of lessons or training equipment. The deadline for entries is Monday, July 2.

“We were so excited to be on team Bounty and show what it really means to be a ‘Bring It’ mother-daughter duo,” said Teri Johnson in the release. “In order to best encourage and support my daughter and her dreams, I’ve always given her the green-light to give it her all – even if that means having to tackle a few messes along the way!”

Beginning April 30, Shawn and Teri Johnson will be featured in the Bounty “Bring It” advertising campaign, airing in the U.S. on TV and online. 

Moms can learn more and enter the “Bring It” mom contest by visiting Facebook.com/Bounty. Visit Bounty’s Facebook Fan page to learn more about entering the “Bring It” mom contest.