Shawn Johnson's Homecoming in Des Moines, Iowa

Iowa welcomed Olympic gold medal winner Shawn Johnson home in style Aug. 26 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. A crowd of over six thousand people of all ages poured out with open arms for the 16-year-old gymnast from West Des Moines. Shawn was honored by a message from Governor Chet Culver, speaking at the DNC today, and at the county level by naming the month of September Shawn Johnson Month.

To see Shawn Johnson's arrival at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa click here.

The David Letterman Show was slipped into the Johnson family schedule yesterday. Shawn said the schedule at the airport was tight due to the live taping, then a plane delay was announced. After giving the obligatory excuse to waiting passengers, the flight official walked over to Shawn and said, "I'm going to tell you what really happened." Apparently someone told the pilot that he would be flying Shawn Johnson and "he just freaked out and hit his head." He was not severely injured, but was taken to the hospital for stitches according to Shawn. The real flight hold up was finding another pilot.

The Valley High School Choir sang the National Anthem while Shawn's medal was awarded on the big screens so we could be right there with her. It was excellent and a little chilling. Shawn attends Valley High School in West Des Moines, Iowa and is a straight A student. She told us she has never gone to private school and wouldn't have it any other way.

Sports Director Keith Murphy of WHO-TV13 in Des Moines hosted the event as the NBC affiliate. Keith did a nice job of keeping things moving along and the crowd involved. From the introductions of Doug and Teri Johnson and the painfully dry interviews with the exhausted couple, to the shooting of autographed T-shirts into the crowd.

During the festivities Shawn Johnson told Keith Murphy that she hadn't gotten used to the attention yet. When asked who the most awe inspiring person she had ran into in Beijing Shawn replied, "I met Vince Vaughn, that was pretty cool!"

Shawn Johnson's coaches Liang Chow and Liwen Zhuang were honored as well and will get a most deserved boost in business at Chow's Gym in West Des Moines, Iowa. Shawn Johnson entered the start up gym at the tender age of 6 and started a flurry of talk. This little girl who walked at 9 months old was special. Now everyone in the world knows the little wonder of West Des Moines, Olympic medalist four times over, Shawn Johnson.