U.S. gymnast Shawn Johnson reacts after winning gold on the balance beam apparatus on Tuesday in Beijing.

Beijing ? Shawn Johnson’s smile was a thousand times wider than the balance beam she had just conquered Tuesday night. Finally, it was a golden grin.

The world champion made a habit of collecting silver at the Beijing Games, not a bad custom, but not exactly everything she came to China for. She ended her runner-up streak with a beam routine that blew away the field, including all-around champ Nastia Liukin, behind whom Johnson got one of her three silvers.

“It’s crazy,” the 16-year-old Johnson said. “I remember seeing Nastia have hers from the all-around and it is so pretty. Silver is really pretty, too.

“It’s the best feeling ever.”

Johnson won the gold despite a headache earlier in the day.

The United States got its only men’s individual medal when Jonathan Horton took silver on high bar.