Nastia Liukin Biography

Fast Facts

• Comes from a family of gymnasts: mother, Anna, was a rhythm gymnastics world champion in 1987; father, Valeri, medaled four times, including two golds, in the 1988 Olympics for the Soviet Union national team
• Began competing at age 6
• Trained at the WOGA (World Olympic Gymnastics Academy), which was co-founded by her parents; other alumni include 2004 all-around Olympic gold medalist Carly Patterson
• Two-time all-around national champion in 2005 and 2006
• Suffered an ankle injury in 2006 that required surgery
• Shares the record (with Shannon Miller) for the most world championship medals (nine) by a U
• S
• gymnast
• Won 5 medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, including a gold medal in the All-Around and a team silver
• Retired from competitive gymnastics in 2012 after failing to earn a berth for the 2012 Olympics, but still traveled to London with the team as the athlete representative for the Federation of International Gymnasts