Nastia Liukin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Nastia Liukin
Liukin in January 2009
Personal information
Full name	Anastasia Valeryevna Liukina
Nickname(s)	Nastia
Country represented	United States
Born	(1989-10-30) October 30, 1989 (age 35) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Moscow, Russian Federation)
Hometown	Parker, Texas, U.S.
Residence	Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Height	5 ft 3 in (160 cm)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Level	Senior International Elite
Years on national team	2002–09, 2011–12 (USA)
Gym	World Olympic Gymnastics Academy
Head coach(es)	Valeri Liukin
Former coach(es)	Anna Kotchneva
Eponymous skills	Liukin (Balance beam)
Retired	July 2, 2012
Medal record Women's artistic gymnastics Representing the  United States Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 1 3 1 World Championships 4 5 0 Pan American Games 3 3 2 Pacific Rim Championships 5 3 0 American Cup 2 0 0 Olympic Games Gold 2008 Beijing All-around Silver 2008 Beijing Team Silver 2008 Beijing Uneven bars Silver 2008 Beijing Balance beam Bronze 2008 Beijing Floor exercise World Championships Gold 2005 Melbourne Uneven bars Gold 2005 Melbourne Balance beam Gold 2007 Stuttgart Team Gold 2007 Stuttgart Balance beam Silver 2005 Melbourne All-around Silver 2005 Melbourne Floor exercise Silver 2006 Aarhus Team Silver 2006 Aarhus Uneven bars Silver 2007 Stuttgart Uneven bars Pan American Games Gold 2003 Santo Domingo Team Gold 2003 Santo Domingo Balance beam Gold 2007 Rio de Janeiro Team Silver 2003 Santo Domingo All-around Silver 2007 Rio de Janeiro Uneven bars Silver 2007 Rio de Janeiro Balance beam Bronze 2003 Santo Domingo Uneven bars Bronze 2003 Santo Domingo Floor exercise Pacific Rim Championships Gold 2006 Honolulu Team Gold 2006 Honolulu Uneven Bars Gold 2008 San Jose Team Gold 2008 San Jose All-Around Gold 2008 San Jose Balance Beam Silver 2008 San Jose Uneven bars Silver 2006 Honolulu All-Around Silver 2006 Honolulu Balance Beam FIG World Cup Event 1st 2nd 3rd All-Around World Cup 2 0 0
Alma mater	New York University
Parents	Valeri Liukin (father) Anna Kotchneva (mother)

Anastasia "Nastia" Valeryevna Liukin (born October 30, 1989) is an American former artistic gymnast. She is famous for winning the all-around gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Nastia also won four other Olympic medals, making her a five-time Olympic medalist. She was a World champion on the balance beam in 2005 and 2007, and on the uneven bars in 2005. Nastia also won the U.S. national all-around title four times. She has nine medals from the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, which is one of the highest totals for a U.S. gymnast. Nastia retired from gymnastics on July 2, 2012.

Nastia Liukin's Early Life and Family

Nastia Liukin was born on October 30, 1989, in Moscow, which was then part of the Soviet Union. Her parents were both champion gymnasts from the Soviet Union. Her father, Valeri Liukin, won two gold medals at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Her mother, Anna Kotchneva, was a World champion in rhythmic gymnastics. Nastia's nickname, Nastia, is a common Russian short name for Anastasia.

When Nastia was two and a half years old, her family moved to the United States. They first lived in New Orleans before settling in Texas. In 1994, Nastia's father and another former Soviet gymnast, Yevgeny Marchenko, opened the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy (WOGA) in Plano, Texas. This is where Nastia trained.

Nastia speaks both English and Russian. She finished high school in 2007. Later, she studied at New York University and graduated in 2016. Nastia has also supported many charities, including those for hospitalized kids and breast cancer awareness. She even started the Nastia Liukin Fund with USA Gymnastics to help young people with fitness programs.

Nastia's Junior Gymnastics Success

Nastia started gymnastics at age three. She was always at the gym with her parents, who were coaches and couldn't afford a babysitter. Her parents didn't originally want her to be a gymnast because they knew how tough the sport was. However, they saw her talent and changed their minds.

Nastia competed in her first national championships as a junior in 2002 when she was 12. She finished 15th, which earned her a spot on the U.S. National Team. She then helped the U.S. team win a gold medal at the 2002 Junior Pan American Championships. She also won silver medals on the uneven bars, balance beam, and in the all-around.

In 2003, Nastia won the junior U.S. National Championships. She also won gold medals on the uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise. She was part of the U.S. team that won gold at the 2003 Pan American Games. In 2004, she won the junior U.S. all-around championship again. Nastia was too young to compete in the 2004 Olympics because of her birth year.

Becoming a Senior Champion

Early Senior Career: 2005-2006

In 2005, Nastia won her first senior national championship in the U.S. She also won gold medals on the uneven bars and balance beam. At the 2005 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Australia, she won the all-around silver medal. She also earned gold medals on the uneven bars and balance beam, and a silver on the floor exercise.

In 2006, Nastia won the all-around title at the American Cup. She also helped the U.S. team win gold at the Pacific Alliance Championships. Nastia successfully defended her all-around, beam, and bars titles at the 2006 U.S. National Championships. She was chosen for the 2006 World Championships but could only compete on uneven bars due to an ankle injury. She still won a silver medal on bars and helped the U.S. team win silver.

Overcoming Injury: 2007

Nastia had surgery on her ankle, which kept her from competing for much of 2007. She returned to competition at the Pan Am Games in Brazil. She only competed on bars and beam, helping the team win gold and earning individual silver medals on both events.

At the 2007 U.S. National Championships, Nastia won her third straight senior bars title and placed second on beam. She finished third overall in the all-around. Later, at the World Championships in Germany, Nastia helped the American team win the gold medal. She also won a gold medal on the balance beam and a silver on the uneven bars.

Olympic Glory in Beijing

Liukin performs on the balance beam at the 2008 U.S. National Championships.

Liukin performing on the balance beam at the 2008 Olympics.

Nastia started 2008 by winning the American Cup again. She also led the American team to a gold medal at the Pacific Rim Championships. At the 2008 U.S. National Championships, Nastia placed second in the all-around. She won her fourth straight national title on the uneven bars and also won on the balance beam. She then earned a spot on the U.S. team for the Beijing Olympics.

2008 Olympic Games

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Nastia competed in the team finals. Her uneven bars score was the highest in the entire Olympic competition. The American team won the silver medal.

Liukin winning the gold medal in the all-around

On August 15, Nastia performed amazing routines on all four events to win the all-around gold medal! This was a huge achievement, making her the third American woman to win this Olympic title.

In the individual event finals, Nastia won a bronze medal on floor exercise. On uneven bars, she tied with China's He Kexin but received the silver medal after a tie-breaking rule. On the balance beam, Nastia won another silver medal. With five medals in Beijing, Nastia tied the record for the most gymnastics medals won by an American in a single Olympic Games.

After the Olympics, Nastia received many awards, including USOC Female Athlete of the Month and FIG Athlete of the Year.

Life After Competition

Return and Retirement: 2009-2012

After the 2008 Olympics, Nastia took a break but decided to return to gymnastics in 2009. She competed only on the balance beam at the CoverGirl Classic and U.S. Championships. She later decided not to compete at the World Championships that year.

In the fall of 2011, Nastia announced she was training for the 2012 Olympic Games. She competed on the balance beam at the 2012 U.S. Classic, finishing third. At the U.S. National Championships, she competed on beam and uneven bars. Nastia's gymnastics career officially ended after the 2012 Olympic Trials. She did not make the Olympic team but went to London as an athlete representative.

Nastia Liukin's Signature Skill

Nastia has a gymnastics skill named after her in the official Code of Points.

The Nastia Liukin Cup

The Nastia Liukin Cup is an annual gymnastics competition in the United States. Nastia herself hosts it. It started in 2010 and is for top-level gymnasts who qualify at special events. The competition takes place the day before the AT&T American Cup. It gives young gymnasts a chance to compete in a big arena on a raised platform, which is a special experience. All money raised from the Nastia Liukin Cup goes to the Nastia Liukin Fund. This fund helps support fitness programs for young people and provides financial help to gymnasts.

Many gymnasts who competed in the Nastia Liukin Cup later became elite athletes and even Olympic or World champions. These include Gabby Douglas and Morgan Hurd.

Media Appearances and Other Work

Nastia has appeared in movies and TV shows, including a small role in the film Stick It and episodes of Gossip Girl and Hellcats. She also competed on Dancing with the Stars in 2015, making it to the semi-finals. In 2015, she was the grand marshal for the 99th Indianapolis 500 race.

Nastia now works as an analyst for NBC Sports, covering gymnastics events. She also launched her own line of gymnastics equipment in 2017. She has worked with many big companies like Visa, AT&T, and Adidas. She even had her picture on Wheaties cereal boxes! In 2010, she launched a clothing line for girls called Supergirl by Nastia.

In 2015, Nastia released her autobiography, Finding My Shine.

Nastia Liukin's Competitive History

Year	Event	Team	AA	VT	UB	BB	FX
Junior
2002	USA-Japan Dual Meet
	USA-Canada Friendly
	Pan American Championships
	American Classic					5
	U.S. Classic				4		4
	U.S. National Championships		15			5	5
2003	Pan American Games
	American Classic
	U.S. Classic
	U.S. National Championships
2004	Pacific Alliance Championships
	American Classic
	U.S. National Championships
Senior
2005	American Cup				6
	USA-Great Britain Friendly
	USA-Switzerland Friendly
	U.S. Classic			4
	U.S. National Championships			4
	World Championships
2006	American Cup
	Pacific Alliance Championships
	U.S. Classic		4	9	6		9
	U.S. National Championships						7
	World Championships
2007
	Pan American Games
	U.S. National Championships						12
	World Championships		5
2008	American Cup
	Pacific Rim Championships						4
	U.S. National Championships						8
	U.S. Olympic Trials			5
	Olympic Games
2009	U.S. Classic
	U.S. National Championships					4
2010	did not compete
2011
2012	U.S. Classic
	U.S. National Championships				19	6
	U.S. Olympic Trials				10	7

Images for kids

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  Olympic rings

See also

In Spanish: Nastia Liukin para niños

• List of multiple Olympic medalists at a single Games
• List of top Olympic gymnastics medalists
• List of top medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
• List of Olympic female gymnasts for the United States