Johnson has had repeated failures with the knee after a skiing accident in January 2010, and feared she was putting its long-term health at risk. '' Only gradually gets worse and worse,'' Johnson told The Associated Press.
He added:'' My body is the point where I need time to rest and retire so you can be healthy for the rest of my life. It's hard to wrap my mind around. Gymnastics has been my whole life and now is nothing.''
Her decision was not easy.
After his injury in 2010, Johnson and coach Liang Chow began planning his return, but when he tried to increase their training to get ready for the Olympic Games in London, his knee would not cooperate.
'' That was a hard, hard,'' said Chow to see Johnson fight.
Finally, Chow Johnson sat down and said they had to be realistic. She could not put in the training he needed, and she was looking for a full knee reconstruction if she kept going.
He added:'' My body is the point where I need time to rest and retire so you can be healthy for the rest of my life. It's hard to wrap my mind around. Gymnastics has been my whole life and now is nothing.''Her decision was not easy.
After his injury in 2010, Johnson and coach Liang Chow began planning his return, but when he tried to increase their training to get ready for the Olympic Games in London, his knee would not cooperate.
'' That was a hard, hard,'' said Chow to see Johnson fight.
Finally, Chow Johnson sat down and said they had to be realistic. She could not put in the training he needed, and she was looking for a full knee reconstruction if she kept going.
.jpg "Yana Buchina")
