U.S. Gymnast Claims Father's Missed Medal: Interview with Nastia Liukin

 

Share

0

It is a dream that Liukin has shared with her celebrated teammate Shawn Johnson every step of the way. They are roommates at the Olympic Village and have shared the medal podium four times (team, all-around, beam and floor exercise) in Beijing. Together, they have won eight medals for Team USA in gymnastics.

"We are great friends and we get along really well," Liukin said. "You know, out there on the floor we're very serious and we're focused on what we're doing. But if you catch us outside, we'll just be laughing and having a good time and not serious at all. We get along great."

Counting down to the women's all-around, Liukin and Johnson were as close as competitive teammates could be.

"We crossed off each day every night before we got in bed. The day of the all-around, we said, 'Wow, it's finally here,'" Liukin recalled.

"We could not fall asleep that night and we just rolled around trying to get to sleep."

When Liukin and Johnson hit the gym the next morning for the all-around finals, they didn't check their friendship at the door. But the harsh reality of competition remained: they knew only one could walk away with the gold.

"We were both supporting each other 100 percent…[but] at the end of the day there can only be one Olympic champion. We were hoping…we would go one-two in the all-around and that's exactly what we did," Liukin said. "We were hoping we made our country proud."

When "The Star Spangled Banner" played for Liukin that day, Johnson hugged and congratulated her teammate and roommate.

"[Shawn] just told me congratulations. I know she wanted it bad too and I can only imagine being so close to it," Liukin told ABC News.

Liukin was fully aware of what Johnson might be experiencing on the second step of the medal stand.

"I kind of experienced the same thing in 2005 at the world championships," Liukin said, referring to her second place finish to American Chellsie Memmel. "I was [one one-thousandth] from winning the world championships in the all-around and I think throughout these years it's made me stronger and just made me want to work harder."

Going Home

Liukin is headed home to the United States tomorrow. Although she's not sure what the future will hold, gymnastics is still in the picture.

"I really hope my gymnastics career doesn't stop from here. I'd love to continue gymnastics for as long as I can," Liukin said. She plans to compete in next year's world championships.

Liuking has won nine world medals, tying Miller for the most by an American gymnast. If she wins medals in next year's world championships, which she indicated she plans to attend, she would break Miller's record with 10.

A glamorous, high-powered career beyond gymnastics might also be in the cards for Liukin. A big fan of the television hit Gossip Girls, Liukin loves fashion and is entertaining the idea of an acting career.

Liukin told ABC News, "I would love to get involved in some acting, modeling or fashion."

A leap from the balance beam to the catwalk is certainly within the realm of possibility. Liukin's elegant, ballerina-like image already adorns the sides of ATMs on the Olympic Green, accompanied by the word "destiny" in Chinese. Liukin can also be found leaping across an Olympic-edition Visa card.

"It's definitely been the time of my life so far and I can only imagine what's coming up."