Brandy Johnson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brandy Johnson, also known as Brandy Johnson-Scharpf (b. April 30, 1973, Tallahassee, Florida) is a retired American gymnast, judge and stuntwoman.
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 prestigious Chunichi Cup in Japan, where she achieved a twelfth-place finish.
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 was the only other American woman besides Phoebe Mills to qualify for an individual event final, the vault, where she placed fifth.
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 gold at the US Nationals and winning the Olympic Festival AA. 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. She is now married, has one child, and is the owner of the Brandy Johnson's Brown's gymnastics club in Clermont, Florida. Johnson also remains involved in the sport as a judge. In 2000, she was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
