Olympian Shawn Johnson East said she felt overwhelmed by scrutiny as an elite gymnast — but being a mom on social media is just as bad

• Former Olympian Shawn Johnson East said motherhood can be as challenging as elite sport.
• Women face intense pressure about how their bodies look and move, Johnson said.

Elite gymnastics is one of the most grueling sports on the planet, requiring athletes to attempt some of the most difficult feats the human body is capable of, while being judged on the smallest details in front of a global audience.

But for 2008 Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson East, her eventual retirement from the sport in 2023 gave rise to a challenge that is just as tough: motherhood in the public eye.

"In gymnastics there's so much pressure, so many eyeballs, and so many opinions. Now transitioning to where I share my life as a mom and as a wife with the world, I feel like I get the same things, just in the category of parenthood," she told Insider in an interview about her partnership with the Johnson's Baby #TogetherWeRaise campaign.

A mother of two with a third on the way, she said Johnson's Baby products are "staples" in her household and the company is a "tried and true for a reason" in supporting parents.

Johnson said her experience and challenges, as an elite athlete have, over time, helped shape her approach to body image and exercise as a mom.

"If only I knew everything I know now when I had my first kid," she said. "It can be overwhelming, it can be exhausting, it can be all those things but it's also the chance to share my life story and how I'm making it work and how I'm relating to other people and helping other moms get through it."

Women face 'unfair' body images standards as athletes and as moms, Johnson said

The intense criticism of women's bodies in professional sports isn't so different from the pressure that new moms face as they undergo the changes before, during, and after pregnancy, according to Johnson.

"The scrutiny that women get for their changing bodies is so unfair because just like you have in a professional sport, our bodies are meant to change," she said.

Johnson said that as a young athlete, she was "naive" and lacked the support of professionals to help her navigate nutrition. As a result, she struggled with body image issues and has previously spoken about battling eating disorders during her career.

However, she said subsequent work with therapists and nutritionists, as well as learning more about the science of the human body, helped her to cultivate a healthier approach.

"Now as a mom, I see it completely differently. I do still struggle every once in a while with body image because our bodies change wildly when we have babies," Johnson said. "But I get to reassure myself and reiterate everyday, 'No, my body is doing exactly what it is supposed to be doing for my baby, and it's going to change.'"

She's teaching her kids to love fitness by bringing them into the gym

Johnson said fitness continues to be a core part of her lifestyle, although at eight months pregnant, she works out less frequently.

She and her husband, former NFL player Andrew East, have a home gym where they routinely exercise alongside daughter Drew, 3 and son Jett, 1, who can follow along with a plastic toy barbell.

"We really enjoy working out from home now, we get to spend time with the kids," she said.

Johnson said it's important to model a healthy relationship to fitness for their kids to follow as they grow up.

"My husband and I are still throwing around barbells and doing everything that we do, our kids are just in the gym with us watching," she said. "They love being in the gym as much as we do."