Biography of Nastia Liukin

Liukin grabs gold
Nastia Liukin captured the Olympic gold medal in the all-around competition at the 2008 Beijing Olympics defeating teammate Shawn Johnson who finished in second. She added this medal to the family's trophy case exactly twenty years after her father captured two golds at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

2008 Olympic lead-up
With one of the most difficult uneven bars routines in the world, Liukin took the American Cup title over Shawn Johnson in March. In April, she won the Pacific Rim Championships. A stumble on floor at Nationals left her in second to Shawn Johnson, but Liukin's Day 2 all-around total proved that when both Liukin and Johnson hit, it's anyone's game. Liukin once again finished second to Johnson at the Olympic Trials, but it was enough to secure a berth on the 2008 Olympic Team.

All in the family
Nastia's parents are products of the Soviet gymnastics machine. Nastia's father, Valeri Liukin, was a double gold medalist (team, high bar) at the 1988 Seoul Games and her mother, Anna Kochneva Liukin, was the 1987 rhythmic world champion with clubs. Citing their personal experiences (in wedding photos, Valeri is sporting a cast), Valeri and Anna were reluctant to let Nastia begin formal training. But since they could not afford a babysitter, Nastia tagged along to the gym. From the sidelines, Nastia began imitating the moves of gymnasts she watched and was soon outperforming them. Unable to ignore their four-year-old's natural talent, Valeri and Anna relented.

Better than dad ... and mom
With nine medals from world championship competition, Liukin tied Shannon Miller's record Liukin also owns more world medals than her parents do -- combined.

A face in the crowd
Typically too nervous to watch her daughter compete, Anna Liukin leaves the competition arena after warm-ups. Such was not the case at the 2007 Worlds, where Anna stayed to watch Nastia during the beam final and cheered loudly enough for Nastia to hear. The support made a difference: after an up-and-down week, Nastia reclaimed her world title on beam.

So close
In 1988, Valeri Liukin missed an all-around gold by one-tenth of a point. Nastia missed the all-round title at the 2005 Worlds by one-thousandth of a point. And though she's a world champion with clubs, Anna Liukin missed out on an all-around medal at the 1987 rhythmic worlds due to a minor error.

Bar none
Liukin's first world title came in 2005 on the uneven bars and she won back-to-back silver medals (to two different gymnasts) in 2006 and 2007 -- in close, somewhat controversial finishes. Her 2008 routine is among the most difficult in the world and also the most flawlessly executed, a combination that makes it hard to call anyone else the favorite for Olympic gold.

Injury
While training for the 2006 Worlds, Liukin sprained her right ankle on the trampoline, which limited her to a bars-only role in Aarhus, Denmark (she won the silver medal) and had surgery in late 2006. Just prior to the 2007 Pan American Games, Liukin's ankle injury flared up again, leaving her with little preparation time for the 2007 Nationals, where a disastrous first day of competition had many wondering if she was trying to do too much, too soon -- she had only been training floor and vault for about two weeks. Liukin proved her doubters wrong on the second night, storming back to claim third place.

True grit
As a 12-year-old competing in her first junior nationals in 2002, Liukin fell from uneven bars during the first rotation and left the podium in tears without completing her routine, holding her right elbow. She finished the competition, and despite counting a 6.8 score, made her first junior national team. Liukin says this is one of her proudest moments in the sport.

Aspiring actress
A rising freshman at Southern Methodist University in Texas, Liukin plans to study international business and has joked that she and teammate Alicia Sacramone, who is studying design at Brown, will open a boutique-clothing store together. Both are interested in acting, and Nastia had a small speaking role in the 2006 movie, StickIt!,. She starred opposite Nadia Comaneci in an adidas commercial broadcast during the 2004 Olympic Games.

Russian roots
Liukin was born in Moscow of the former Soviet Union and goes by Nastia, the Russian diminutive of Anastasia. Liukin is fluent in Russian and English, speaks some Spanish and would like to learn French.