"It was the greatest honor of my life" - When Shawn Johnson won the gold medal as a 16-year-old at the 2008 Beijing Olympics

Shawn Johnson reminisced about when she represented the US at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. She stood atop the podium with the balance beam gold medal around her neck, while the National Anthem of the US played.

Shawn Johnson, 32, competed as an artistic gymnast representing the US. She was in top form at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, winning gold in the balance beam and silvers in the all-around, team and floor routine. The previous year, she walked home with the all-around champion title from the 2007 World Championships. The same year, she won four golds in the Pan American Games to earn the all-around position.

Despite winning 10 golds across all the major competitions throughout her impressive career, the 2008 Olympic gold holds a special place in her heart. That was her only Olympic feat since she tore her ACL and had to end her career early.

In a recent interview with Fox News, Johnson expressed how she witnessed her Olympic dream sit in place just as she imagined it. Shawn Johnson wore the red-white-blue, signifying the US flag, and had the gold around her neck, when the National Anthem started playing.

"It was the greatest honor of my life at the time. Being able to wear the red, white and blue, seeing the flag be lowered, hearing the anthem, put your hand over your chest. It was this moment I had dreamt of my whole life. And being able to do that not just for myself, but for my coaches and my team and our country, it was a really special moment. It felt very special," she said.

Johnson trailed behind legendary Nastia Liukin in the all-around competition at the 2008 Olympic Games.

Shawn Johnson will be in the Paris Olympics but not as an athlete

Johnson is married to Andrew East, the former American football long snapper. The couple has three kids, Drew Hazel, Jett James, and Barrett Madison. Despite drawing a line to her career in 2012, Johnson will accompany her family to the 2024 Paris Olympics as a 'cheerleader', hyping the contenders to make them believe in their potential.

"I feel like its such a small world that I know the girls through a couple degrees of separation. I’m an old has-been. I’m not in it anymore, but I will be there cheering for them and will be the one saying, 'No matter what you do, you’ve done an incredible job.’ They’re superhuman, and I’m just cheering them on."