In 2003, Carrie battled a series of injuries and illnesses, suffering from pneumonia, elbow surgery, and was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. As a result, she missed the World Championships, the Pan American Games and nearly three months of training.
Even that didn't get her down. When her body was ready, she came right back to the training center, put her boat on the water, and got back to business.

[... a week after elbow surgery to remove bone chips, Johnson was in the weight room doing one-arm pushups on a slant board and assisted one-arm pull-ups.]

...

She lived and trained in Chula Vista all of 2004, fully devoting herself to the sport and the pursuit of making the 2004 Olympic Team. It paid off. She shocked the entire kayak field at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in winning the women’s K-1 500 and earning a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team. She and her teammates also won the K-4 500m, and qualified their boat to the Olympics.