Shawn Johnson is a 16-year-old American gymnast who earned a gold medal on the balancing beam at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. She was the winner of Dancing with the Stars in 2009. The competition aired its finale on March 20, 2009. At age 17, Johnson is the youngest winner in the show's history. Her prize money was $500,000. Johnson began training as a gymnast at the age of three and a half under the guidance of Kim Zmeskal-Baker and Peter Berman. She has been affiliated with the St. Louis Gymnastics Academy since she was eight years old. In addition to competing in gymnastics, she has also appeared on television as a dancer on So You Think You Can Dance and The Best of Both Worlds. She received a degree in communications from Maryville University in St. Charles, Missouri. As part of her graduation ceremony speech, she announced that she was leaving dancing to focus on her career as a gymnast. Johnson returned to Dancing with the Stars in 2010 and again in 2011. In 2012, she competed in Season 13 but was eliminated during Week 7 of the competition. In 2013, Johnson returned for Season 14 and this time became one of the finalists.