Olympian Shawn Johnson suffers miscarriage

Former Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson has suffered a miscarriage, just two days after discovering she was expecting her first child.

The gold medal-winning athlete shared her heartache in an emotional YouTube.com video on Saturday (21Oct17), when she uploaded a clip titled, "pregnancy + heartbreak".

The footage documented the roller coaster journey Shawn and her husband Andrew East had been through after initially learning they were to become parents, only for the 25-year-old to experience some unexpected bleeding. They immediately visited a doctor's office, where her worst fears were confirmed.

"The past 48 hours have been some of the happiest, scariest, and saddest times of my life," Shawn captioned the video. "My husband Andrew and I found out that we were unexpectedly pregnant, only to find out hours later some tragic news. I have been crying more than I ever have, but am still optimistic for what is next."

Shawn also shared the news on her Instagram page, alongside a touching message for her husband of 18 months.

"This is by far the hardest video we've ever posted," she explained, "but we felt as though it was a story that needed to be shared as so many struggle with the same thing.

"@andrewdeast I love you more than anything in this world and I know you are going to make the greatest Daddy in the world someday. Thank you for being my rock through all of this."