Nastia Liukin

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Nastia Liukin
Personal information
Full name: Anastasia Valeryevna Liukin
Nickname(s): Nastia
Country Represented: Flag of the United States United States
Date of birth: October 30, 1989 (1989-10-30) (age 18)
Place of birth: Moscow, Russia
Hometown: Plano, TX
Discipline: Women's Artistic Gymnastics
Level: Senior International Elite
Years on National Team: 5 (2002-2007)
Gym: World Olympic Gymnastics Academy
Head coach(es): Valeri Liukin
Assistant coach(es): Natalya Marakova
Music: Dark Eyes by Arthur Akopyan

Anastasia Valeryevna Liukin (Russian: Анастасия Валерьевна Люкина; born October 30, 1989), better known as Nastia Liukin, is an American gymnast. She is a four-time all-around U.S. National Champion in artistic gymnastics, has been the U.S. senior National Champion on the uneven bars since 2005, and is the 2007 and 2005 World Champion on the balance beam and the 2005 World Champion on the uneven bars. With nine World Championships medals, seven of them individual, Liukin is currently tied with Shannon Miller as having won the most World Championship medals of any American gymnast in history.[1][2]

Liukin is coached by her father, Valeri Liukin, at her family's gymnastics club, WOGA, in Plano, Texas.

Contents

[edit] Early life and family

Nastia Liukin was born on October 30, 1989 in Moscow, Russia. She is the only child of two former Soviet champion gymnasts: 1988 Olympic gold medalist Valeri Liukin and 1987 World Champion in rhythmic gymnastics, Anna Kotchneva.

The family moved to the United States when Liukin was two and a half years old, after the breakup of the Soviet Union,[3] and settled first in New Orleans before moving to Texas.[4] In 1994 Valeri Liukin teamed with another former Soviet champion athlete, Evgeny Marchenko, to open the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy (WOGA) in Plano.[5]

[edit] Junior career

Liukin began gymnastics at the age of 3 because she was "always hanging around in the gym" with her parents, who could not afford a babysitter to look after her while they were working as coaches. Liukin's parents initially did not aspire for their daughter to become a gymnast, knowing the pressure of high-level competition firsthand, but relented when they noticed her aptitude for the sport.[6][7][8]

Liukin competed in her first National Championships as a junior in 2002, at the age of 12 1/2. While her WOGA teammates Carly Patterson and Hollie Vise finished first and second, Liukin suffered a fall on the uneven bars, which rendered her unable to finish the routine. She continued through the rest of the competition, and despite the incomplete bars set, finished 15th, which landed her one of the final spots on the U.S. National Team.[9][3] She was chosen to compete with the U.S. team at the 2002 Junior Pan American Championships, where she contributed to the team gold medal and placed second on the uneven bars, balance beam and all-around.[7]

By 2003, Liukin was one of the strongest junior gymnasts in the United States. She won the junior division of the U.S. National Championships, as well as gold medals on three of the four events: uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise. She repeated these accomplishments in 2004. Liukin was a member of the gold-medal winning U.S. team at the 2003 Pam Am Games; she took second place in the all-around behind fellow American Chellsie Memmel. She also won the all-around in the junior division of the 2004 Pacific Alliance Championships.[10]

Born in 1989, Liukin was one year too young to compete as a senior in 2004, and thus was not eligible for a place on the U.S. team for the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Her scores in the junior division at the 2004 U.S. National Championships were competitive with those being posted by the seniors, and Marta Karolyi, U.S. National Team Coordinator, has said that if Liukin had been eligible, she would have been named to the Olympic team.[citation needed]

[edit] Senior career

[edit] 2005-2006

In 2005, Liukin won her first senior National Championships and, once again, earned gold medals on the bars and beam. At the 2005 World Championships in Melbourne, she was ranked first in the all-around after the preliminary competition. In the all-around final she technically accumulated the same total as Chellsie Memmel, but a scoring system that truncated the individual apparatus marks, as opposed to using the full scores or rounding up, artificially lowered Liukin's total score and she placed second.[11] Memmel's final score was 37.824; Liukin's was 37.823; the competition was the closest in gymnastics history, excluding the all-around finals at the 1985 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, where USSR gymnasts Elena Shushunova and Oksana Omelianchik tied for the gold. Liukin rallied in event finals to win the gold on the uneven bars and balance beam, ahead of Memmel; and the silver on the floor exercise behind teammate Alicia Sacramone.[12][13]

In March of 2006, Liukin placed first in the all-around at the American Cup.[14] At the 2006 Pacific Alliance Championships, Liukin tied with teammate and frequent competitive rival Chellsie Memmel for first in the all-around, won the uneven bars title and a silver medal on beam, and contributed to the U.S. team's gold medal performance.[15] She competed at the 2006 U.S. Classic as the defending all-around champion, but falls on the uneven bars and floor resulted in a fourth-place finish. However, she scored extremely well on the balance beam, and was the only competitor in the meet, junior or senior, to earn a score over 16.00 on this event.[16]

In late August, at the 2006 U.S. National Championships, Liukin successfully defended her all-around, beam and bars titles, becoming a two-time senior National Champion.[7] She was named to the U.S. team for the 2006 World Gymnastics Championships in Aarhus, Denmark, and was expected by many to be a strong contender for the all-around title. However, due to an ankle injury sustained in training before the competition began, she was only able to compete on one event, the uneven bars, at Worlds. In spite of her injury, in the qualification round, Liukin's bars set earned a 16.2, the highest score of any competitor on any apparatus in the meet. Her bars routine in team finals scored a 15.7 and helped the U.S. team win the silver medal. Liukin also qualified for the event finals on bars, where she took a small step on her dismount and finished with a 16.05, earning a silver medal behind Britain's Beth Tweddle.[17]

[edit] 2007

Liukin's ankle injury required surgery, and the recovery period kept her out of both national and international competition for much of the year. In July 2007, although she was still recovering from her injury, she returned to competition as a member of the American team for the Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro. She competed only on bars and beam, contributing to the team's gold medal finish and winning individual silver medals on both events.[18][19]

Despite limited training time on floor and vault in the summer of 2007, Liukin opted to compete all-around at the 2007 U.S. National Championships. She posted the highest score of the entire meet on bars and the second highest score on beam on the second day of competition, winning the senior bars title for the third year in a row and placing second on beam. However, she also suffered several falls and errors on floor and vault, and finished in third place overall, over five points behind Shawn Johnson, the all-around gold medalist.[20][21][22]

Following Nationals, Liukin was named to the American team for the World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, competing all-around in the team qualifying round and in on bars and beam in the finals. Liukin's score for her bars routine in team finals was a 16.375, the highest score of the day and, in the end, the entire World Championships. However, at the end of her beam routine, her foot slipped while she was setting up her dismount, prompting her to change her usual skill, a two and a half twisting salto, to a simple back tuck. While she lost credit for her dismount, she also avoided a deduction for a fall, and earned a 15.175. The team recovered from this and other mistakes to finish first overall with 184.400, nearly a point ahead of the silver medal Chinese.[22][23][24]

Liukin's struggles with the balance beam continued in the all-around final, where she fell from the apparatus during her flight series. In spite of a 16.100 on bars, the highest score of the day from any competitor on any event, she finished the competition in fifth place. In the event finals, however, Liukin rallied and regained her World Champion title on the balance beam with a score of 16.025.[21][25] She also earned a silver on the uneven bars, scoring a 16.300 after taking a step on her dismount.[26]

[edit] 2008

Liukin's first meet of the 2008 season was the American Cup in New York City, where she defeated 2007 winner Shawn Johnson to regain her title. She posted the highest score of the meet, a 16.6 on the uneven bars.[27] In March, Liukin competed at the Pacific Rim (formerly Pacific Alliance) Championships in San Jose, where she led the American team to a gold medal and won the all-around and balance beam titles. In the team competition, Liukin posted an all-time high score of 16.65 on the uneven bars, but in event finals, she fell on her Gienger release move and took a step on her dismount, earning a 15.225 and taking second place.[28][29]

At the 2008 U.S. National Championships in Boston, Liukin fell on floor on the first day of competition, but had a strong meet on her other events and placed second in the all-around behind Shawn Johnson. She regained her National Champion title on the beam and defended her national title on the uneven bars for the fourth consecutive year, scoring a 17.050 in preliminaries and a 17.100 in finals, the highest recorded score for any American gymnast at any event since the advent of the new Code of Points.[30]

[edit] Other achievements

Outside of competitive gymnastics, Liukin has made several appearances in film and television, most notably a commercial for Adidas with Nadia Comaneci which ran during the 2004 Olympics, a 2008 commercial for Visa, and a cameo in the April 2006 Disney film Stick It.[31][32] She has expressed a desire to become an actress in the future.[7]

Liukin has several corporate sponsorships, including Visa, AT&T, GK Elite Sportswear, Longines and Adidas, and has served as a Longines Sports Ambassador of Elegance since 2006.[33][34] She also has her own line of gymnastics equipment, which includes mats and balance beams in her signature pink, produced by AAI.[35][36]

Liukin is fluent in English and Russian.[8] She graduated from high school in the spring of 2007 and enrolled as a freshman international business major at Southern Methodist University in January 2008, but is currently taking a leave from classes to concentrate on preparations for the 2008 Olympic Games.[18][11]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Nastia Liukin adds to haul" Star Tribune/Associated Press, September 8 2007
  2. ^ "U.S. women win three more medals at 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships"USA Gymnastics press release, September 9 2007
  3. ^ a b Official Biography. nastialiukin.com (2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  4. ^ Whatever happened to Valeri Liukin?. Gymnastics Greats (2000-2006). Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  5. ^ History of WOGA. WOGA Parents' Club (2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  6. ^ Korotsky, Chris (July/August 2005). From Russia with love. Inside Gymnastics. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  7. ^ a b c d Liukin's official national team biography. USA Gymnastics (2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  8. ^ a b Peszek, Luan (May/June 2005). Nastia Liukin's leap from junior to senior. USA Gymnastics Magazine. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  9. '^ Chatting with Nastia Liukin. International Gymnast (2002). Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  10. '^ Pacific Alliance Concludes. International Gymnast (April 18, 2004). Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  11. ^ a b Turner, Amanda (October 30, 2007). Liukin celebrates 18th birthday. International Gymnast. Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
  12. ^ Years of hype hit home for Liukin. Deseret News/Associated Press (August 14 2005). Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  13. ^ Stevenson, Emma (November 27 2005). Championship Wrap: USA the standout performers. Infostrada Sports. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  14. ^ USA’s Liukin, Horton win Tyson American Cup. USA Gymnastics (March 4 2006). Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  15. ^ Liukin, Memmel tie for all-around title at 2006 Pacific Alliance Championships. USA Gymnastics (March 13 2006). Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  16. ^ WAG: Kelley, Priess Tie for U.S. Classic Title. USA Gymnastics (July 30, 2006). Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  17. ^ Almond, Eliott (August 16 2007). Reigning Liukin returning tonight. Oakland Tribune. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  18. ^ a b Hairopoulos, Kate (May 30 2007). Liukin limited by ankle injury. Dallas Morning News. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  19. ^ USA adds four gold, six silver to gymnastics medal haul at 2007 Pan Am Games. USA Gymnastics (July 17 2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  20. ^ Hello there: Shawn Johnson, newest U.S. gymnastics phenom. Associated Press (August 20 2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  21. ^ a b Armour, Nancy (September 9 2007). Liukin gets her gold. Associated Press. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  22. ^ a b Pells, Eddie (September 3 2007). Liukin an all-around hit at World Championships. Associated Press. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  23. ^ US Women sparkle to snatch the team gold. Reuters (September 7 2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  24. ^ U.S. women win team title at World Championships. USA Gymnastics (September 5 2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  25. ^ Liukin wins beam gold at World Championships. Reuters (September 9 2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  26. ^ Will eight be enough?. Reuters (September 8 2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  27. ^ Nancy Armour (March 1 2008). "Hamm, Liukin win American Cup". Associated Press. Retrieved on 2008-03-01.
  28. ^ John Crumpacker (March 31 2008). "A stop on road to Beijing:Hamm, Liukin hone skills at Pacific Rim event". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
  29. ^ "Hamm cruises, Liukin raises bar at Pacific Rim". USA Today (March 30 2008). Retrieved on 2008-03-31.
  30. ^ Armour, Nancy (June 7 2008). "Johnson wins second US title". Associated Press. Retrieved on 2008-06-07.
  31. ^ Stick It at the Internet Movie Database. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  32. ^ Hairopoulos, Kate. Visa Championships another step toward Beijing for Parker gymnast Liukin. Dallas Morning News. Retrieved on 2008-06-05.
  33. ^ List of sponsors. nastialiukin.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  34. ^ List of Ambassadors of Elegance. Longines. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  35. ^ Nastia Liukin's line of gymnastics equipment. AAI. Retrieved on 2008-01-01.
  36. ^ World Champion gymnast Nastia Liukin signs endorsement with AAI. USA Gymnastics (May 24 2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-01.

[edit] External links

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World champions in artistic gymnastics – women's team competition

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