| Brandy Johnson | |
|---|---|
 Johnson at the 1989 World Championships | |
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Country represented |
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Born |
April 30 1973 |
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Years on National Team |
1987-1990 |
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Club |
Brown's Gymnastics, Karolyi's Gymnastics, Brandy Johnson's Global Gymnastics (coach) |
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Coach(es) |
Kevin Brown & Jeff Wood, Bela & Marta Karolyi |
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Current status |
Retired |
Brandy Johnson, also known as Brandy Johnson-Scharpf (b. April 30, 1973, Tallahassee, Florida) is a retired American gymnast, gymnastics judge, and stuntwoman. She is the owner of the Brandy Johnson's Global Gymnastics in Clermont, Florida. Her daughter, Sydney, trains at her gym and was a member of the U.S. National Team.
Junior Career[]
A member of Brown's Gymnastics club in Orlando, Florida, Johnson made an impressive debut in high-level competition, winning the all-around, vault, floor exercise and balance beam titles at the 1986 Junior Olympics National Championships. The following year, in her first US National Championships, Johnson won the all-around gold medal in the junior division. She also received her first international assignment, the Chunichi Cup in Japan, where she achieved a twelfth-place finish.
Senior Career[]
During the buildup to the 1988 Olympics, Johnson moved to Houston, Texas to be coached by Marta and Béla Károlyi. She placed sixth at the 1988 US Nationals and fourth at the Olympic Trials, securing a berth on the US team for the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. At the Olympics, Johnson's tenth-place all-around finish was the highest for an American gymnast in the meet. She qualified for an event final on the vault, where she placed fifth. She along with Kelly Garrison-Steves and Phoebe Mills, were the only U.S. women to qualify for an individual event final.
Johnson opted to continue competing in 1989, returning to Brown's. It was a successful year for her, as she nearly swept the US National Championships, winning the all-around title and every event final, with the sole exception of uneven bars. She also achieved outstanding results as a member of the fourth-place US team at the 1989 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, coming in second on the vault and seventh in the all-around. Her AA placement was, at the time, the highest ever achieved by an American woman at Worlds. Her silver medal was the only one for an American gymnast in the competition. For her contributions to gymnastics in 1989, Johnson was nominated for the James E. Sullivan Award.
Johnson competed well in 1990, placing third in the all-around and winning vault and floor gold at the US Nationals and winning the Olympic Festival AA. She placed 5th AA in the 1990 World cup and was an event finalist on bars, beam, and floor. However, it also marked her last year of elite competition.
After retiring from elite gymnastics in 1990, Johnson worked for several years as a stunt double in Hollywood movies, including the film adaptation of the British comedy Bean. Johnson also remains involved in the sport as a judge. In 2000, she was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
Medal Count[]
| Year | Event | TF | AA | VT | UB | BB | FX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | North Shore Invitational | 1st | 1st | 1st | |||
| Level 10 Junior Olympic Nationals | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | |||
| 1987 | Chunichi Cup | 12 | |||||
| Junior U.S. National Championships | 1st | ||||||
| 1988 | U.S. Classic | 2nd | |||||
| U.S. National Championships | 6 | 3rd | 2nd | ||||
| U.S. Olympic Trials | 4 | ||||||
| Seoul Olympic Games | 4 | 10 | |||||
| 1989 | McDonald's American Cup | 1st | |||||
| USA vs. USSR | 1st | ||||||
| U.S. National Championships | 1st | 1st | 5 | 1st | 1st | ||
| U.S. World Championship Team Trials | 1st | ||||||
| Stuttgart World Championships | 4 | 7 | 2nd | ||||
| Cottbus International | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | ||
| 1990 | U.S. National Championships | 3rd | 1st | 1st | |||
| Brussels World Cup Final | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |