She played to the judges and crowd, dancing as if she were home in her own living room. And the smile on her face got brighter and brighter with every second that passed.

When she finished, everyone knew the competition was over — no matter that there were still a handful of gymnasts left to finish.

“I saw some tears in her eyes,” Chow said. “It was a great moment.”

And there are sure to be many more.

With the Beijing Olympics only 11 months away, Johnson has firmly established herself as the woman to beat. It is not an easy mantle to wear, being the favorite; only four Olympic gold medalists went into the games as the reigning world champion.

It’s not just the competition she’ll have to deal with, either. Johnson is one of the most delightfully normal people you could meet, a teenager who still likes to hang out with her parents and who walks dogs at the local animal shelter in her spare time.

With her adorable smile and bubbly personality, she’d already inherited the “next” title — as in “the next Mary Lou” — and it’s a sure bet she’s going to be front and center in just about every marketing campaign there is leading up to Beijing.

But Johnson is OK with that — all of it.

“It might put a little more pressure, but honestly, I love it. I love being the crowd favorite,” she said. “I love the crowd. They motivate me, they help me do even better. Knowing I’ll be the favorite, it makes me want to do even better.”

She’s already pretty good. Best in the world, in fact.

“Honestly, I think I’m in a stage of dreaming right now,” Johnson said. “I’m at worlds, and I’m the all-around champion. I’m so happy and so proud of myself. I just, I don’t know. I’m overwhelmed with everything right now.”

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