Several of the top stories coming out of the 2008 Beijing Olympics carried ties to the state of Iowa.

Shawn Johnson: Iowa’s Golden Girl

Possibly the most famous Olympic athlete from Iowa this summer was 16-year-old gymnast Shawn Johnson from Des Moines.

“She’s awesome,” said Jay Ronayne, coach of the gymnastics team. “She’s hugely talented and possibly better than most Olympians.”

Johnson, the all-around world champion from 2007, had a lot of pressure on her in her Olympic debut because many hoped Johnson would carry the US to a team gold. The team finished with silver.

In June Johnson and her coach, Liang Chow, were forced to leave their facilities because of local flooding. Chow moved practices to the ISU gymnastics facility, which Chow had visited previously. Ronayne shut down the gym and gave the U.S. team freedom to do what they wanted.

In the individual competitions Johnson finished with silver on floor, gold on beam, and silver in the individual all-around.

“I am extremely proud of Shawn for making the team,” Ronayne said. “I know its a big dream for many young gymnasts — to make it to the Olympics — and she definitely deserves it.”

Olympics bring back memories for Tom Hill

Thomas Hill, vice president of student affairs, took great interest in watching the Olympics this August and was particularly interested in track and field. Hill won a bronze medal in the 110-meter hurdles during the 1972 Olympic games in Munich.

Four years prior to the ‘72 games, Hill said he had never imagined himself making it to the Olympics, as an athlete. Hill said the chance to go to Munich was a dream come true.

“After going to the Olympics I learned there was a good and a bad side to the games. The good side is that you get to represent your country to the world; the bad side is the politics involved in the games. Many athletes use the fact that they are an athlete to further their political causes,” Hill said.

Hill said he enjoyed watching Iowa’s own Lolo Jones run hurdles this year. Jones placed first in preliminary qualifier for the 100-meter hurdles and placed first again in the semi-finals.

In the finals, Jones was expected to take the gold. Early in the race she appeared to be on her way, until her foot caught the second-to-last hurdle, causing her to stumble. The trip-up resulted in a seventh-place finish.

Despite the disappointing finish, Hill is optimistic that Jones will have another chance at an Olympic medal.

“If Lolo keeps up with her current pattern she will be a force to reckon with in the 2012 games in London,” Hill said. “I think she has a good chance of breaking the 100-meter hurdles world record.”

ISU professor helped design Olympians’ swimsuits

Another Iowan who contributed to this year’s games was Iowa State’s own Rick Sharp, a professor of kinesiology. Sharp is the co-designer of the Speedo LZR Racer, the swimsuit used by the U.S. swim team.

While designing the LZR Racer, the research team for Speedo International did body scans on 400 swimmers in order to determine the correct design.

“All the tests we ran on the suit had very good outcomes,” Sharp said.

The tests showed the LZR Racer cut the swimmers’ times by 1.9 to 2.2 percent.

The LZR Racer, which was released on Feb. 13, is Speedo’s fastest suit. It is light weight, water repellent, reduces drag, appears seamless and keeps the body in a streamline position. The suit is made of elastane-nylon, which provides elasticity, and polyurethane-Gore-tex, which creates the water proof seal.

Since Aug. 14, 62 world records have been broken by athletes wearing the LZR Racer.

“The suit definitely exceeded expectations,” said Sharp.

There are three designs for the suit, including a full body suit known as “Bodyskin,” a pant suit known as “Legskin,” and a knee-length suit known as “Jammer.” All three designs were worn by athletes participating in the Beijing Olympics.

“We were very pleasantly surprised after seeing the Olympic races and how well the suit helped the swimmers’ times,” Sharp said.