Olympic Gold Medalist Shawn Johnson East Stars in New Documentary 'SOARING'

The four-time Olympic medalist stars and narrates a feel-good story following three Special Olympics athletes on their journeys of perseverance.

Shawn Johnson | RED BARON®

There is a moment in SOARING, the upcoming short-film documentary presented by RED BARON® when Shawn Johnson East surprises three Special Olympics gymnasts and it’s emotional and real as Shawn opens up about her own experience.   

Johnson East, the four-time Olympic medalist and three-time World Champion whose gravity-defying beam routines made the world hold its breath, came to SOARING as a mentor and narrator but was so much more by being able to share how to build confidence and drowning out the noise. 

The documentary, set to begin streaming on June 3 on YouTube and at redbaron.com/soaring, follows Paige Trombley, Elizabeth "Liz" Viele, and Jenny Hill as they prepare to compete at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in Minneapolis, Minnesota this June.  Each carries a story that inspires by knowing how far they’ve come. Together, they form something special.

Shawn Johnson East (right) with the stars of "SOARING". | RED BARON®

Paige is fighting her way back from injury, returning to the floor with a grit that is almost uncomfortable to watch because it holds up a mirror. Liz, who has been competing in Special Olympics since the 1990s across sports as varied as basketball, bowling, cross-country skiing, and flag football, is making her USA Games debut this summer at the gymnastics bars, powered by nearly three decades of dedicated weight training and a quiet confidence that radiates off the screen. And Jenny, a seasoned competitor returning for her second USA Games with gold on her mind was once nonverbal. She and her family credit the Special Olympics with giving her not just medals, but a voice.

Then there is the surprise. Johnson East, in an unscripted moment that the film captures with unflinching honesty, sits down with Paige, Liz, and Jenny  and opens up. She talks about stage fright. About the particular terror of performing under pressure when the whole world is watching and your body, the instrument you've trained since childhood, suddenly feels like it belongs to someone else. She talks about vulnerability not as weakness but as the price of doing anything that matters.

A scene from "SOARING" presented by RED BARON®. | RED BARON®

The 2026 Special Olympics USA Games, set for June 20–26 across Minnesota's Twin Cities at the University of Minnesota and the National Sports Center in Blaine, will draw nearly 3,000 athletes from all 50 states competing in 16 Olympic-type sports.

SOARING arrives at a moment when people could use exactly this kind of reminder. The 2026 Special Olympics USA Games, set for June 20–26 across Minnesota's Twin Cities at the University of Minnesota and the National Sports Center in Blaine, will draw nearly 3,000 athletes from all 50 states competing in 16 Olympic-type sports. It will be one of the largest sporting events on American soil this year.

The film SOARING, presented by RED BARON® as part of its partnership with the Games, does what the best sports films always do: it reminds us that the scoreboard is almost never the point. It’s the roadmap that takes athletes to the starting line and the journey for Paige, Liz and Jenny was never easy and it makes you believe anything is possible. 

The 2026 Special Olympics USA Games run June 20–26 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. SOARING is set to begin streaming June 3 on YouTube and at redbaron.com/soaring.