Jonathan Horton, Shawn Johnson, and Nastia Liukin
© FIG Photo


BEIJING, Aug. 19, 2008 – 2008 Olympic all-around champion Nastia Liukin of Parker, Texas, 2008 Olympic all-around silver-medalist Shawn Johnson of West Des Moines, Iowa, and 2008 Olympic team bronze-medalist Jonathan Horton will compete in the last day of individual event finals at the 2008 Olympic Games, held at the National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China. Liukin and Johnson are in the balance beam finals, and Horton is competing on the horizontal bar.

Liukin is the reigning world champion on balance beam. She won the title in both 2005 and 2007. Johnson is also very strong on balance beam, having won the title at the 2007 Pan American Games, as well as finishing first at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Gymnastics.

Liukin and Johnson have won four and three Olympic medals, respectively, including the team silver medal. In addition to her all-around gold medal, Liukin also earned the silver medal on the uneven bars and the bronze medal on the floor exercise. She is on track to tie the U.S. gymnastics record of five Olympic medals at one Olympics currently held by Shannon Miller, who claimed five (two silver and three bronze) at the 1992 Olympic Games. Johnson won silver medals in both the all-around and the floor exercise. Horton has a bronze medal from the team competition and finished ninth in the all-around.

Liukin has nine career world medals, four gold and five silver, from three World Championships. Johnson won three gold medals at the 2007 World Championships.