“My father should get the credit for my victory”

Nastia Liukin, the daughter of the famous Soviet gymnast Valeri Liukin, who now owns a gymnastics school in Dallas, triumphed at the Olympic Games in Beijing. Nastia, who trains at the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy, won gold in the all-around competition, silver for the balance beam and the uneven bars routines, silver in team competition, and bronze for floor exercises. At the age of 18, Nastia has become the most decorated female gymnast in America: her piggybank now contains an Olympic gold medal, three Olympic silvers, one bronze, as well as four gold and five silver medals from world championships.

“The Russian gold of America,” “The daughter of the Russian champion takes the gold for the U.S.” newspaper and magazine headlines raved after Nastia’s victory.

The father

– Nastia was born into a family where her father was a world-renowned gymnastics champion and her mother a famous artistic gymnastics champion. Was it largely predetermined that she would also be a gymnast?

– We really did not want for Nastia to give herself to gymnastics seriously. We knew what it would mean. I had a number of injuries in my own days, and so did Anna (Nastia’s mother). When we started coaching children Nastia was only four. Of course, she was growing up at the gym. We did not have the money to hire a babysitter at that time. She was doing summersaults all by herself. I looked at her one time and realized that she was doing the program better than the other children who were training. We decided that it was not within our discretion to take away from our daughter the talent that God gave her. We started Nastia in a group with small children. At the outset, she was being coached by Anna and Sergei Pakanich, a very good professional. My dear friend and business partner Evgeny Marchenko, who coached the 2004 Olympic champion Carly Patterson also got involved in working with Nastia. When she was six, I decided to coach Nastia myself. From that time on, the momentum has just been building up, and it became impossible to stop…

– Liukin the father does not show any leniency to her daughter during practices?

– I think that it is harder for her to work with me than with others. I am her father and I know all of her capabilities and her goals. From her early childhood Nastia did not like taking second places. It’s not easy for her at the gym. She trains long hours.

– Choreography instructor Ludmila Kumanovskaya who remembers when Valeri Liukin was a ten-year-old boy told me the same about you. She called to extend her congratulations to you and Nastia from the city of Perm. She said that this victory belongs not only to the daughter, but also to the father…

Valeri, from 2004 onward Nastia was considered to be one of the main candidates for the gold medal at the next Olympics. You were always cautious about responding to questions about these expectations. You never said that you pursued the objective for Nastia to win at the Olympics. At the same time, it seems to me that you were fairly certain that your daughter would win…

– Of course, I counted on her getting the gold in the all-around. I always believed that if Nastia did her entire routine she would win the medal. There are no programs more complex than hers in the world of women’s gymnastics. Still, I never pushed on my daughter and did not set any targets, such as becoming the world champion or the gold medalist at the Olympics. It would be psychologically wrong. Many things depend on luck… I am quite delighter that this approach justified itself in the end.

– Valeri, how did your life change after Nastia’s victory in China?

– It feels a bit strange that Nastia isn’t home with us. From August she has only spent four days in Dallas. She has now become our business woman. In the fall, we got many new girls that came to our academy aspiring to become the next Nastia Liukin.

The daughter

– Nastia, is it difficult to be the daughter of champions Valeri Liukin and Anna Kotchneva? 

– I never thought about that. They are just mom and dad for me. Of course, I think it’s wonderful that they were famous gymnasts.

– Did you play with their medals as a child?

– A couple of times… I probably wore them around.

– Did you think that you would have the same number of them or, perhaps, even more? You have already surpassed even your dad in the number of medals and accomplished his dream of getting the all-around gold. In Seoul he only had the silver.

– I still cannot believe that it happened. I have worked so many years to get the gold. There were moments when my scores that were announced made me nervous, but I was generally confident. I would not have been here if not for my parents. They had great influence on me. My dad is always with me during practice. His work is the main reason for my Olympic victory. My mother supported me morally even at the most difficult moments of my life. I am very grateful to my parents.

– Do you recall your first victory?

– Yes, I do. It was in 1998 at the Texas championship. I won the all-around in my age group.

– Does it help you that your father always escorts you to the stage at the competitions?

– Of course. I do not know of any other way that it is done. As far back as I remember myself that was always the case. It helps not only during competitions, but also during training camps when we are away from home for an extended period of time. The athletes are not allowed to see their parents until the very end of the competitions, so I am very lucky that my father is my coach.

– What comes first? Is he your coach or your dad?

– We separate these roles. When we are at the gym, he is only my coach. At home, he is just dad. We don’t speak about gymnastics at home.

– What do you do in your free time?

– I like to read, to watch good movies, to go shopping, to swim in the pool in the summertime… I like spending time with my friends. I also have three wonderful dogs.

– I know that one of your best friends is Olympic gold medalist of the games in Athens Carly Patterson. She greeted you at the airport after your return to Dallas and was one of the first people to congratulate you upon your victory. After getting the gold at the 2004 Olympics Carly left gymnastics. What do you plan to do?

– It is hard to answer the question now. I know that I will be at the next World Championship. We will see what happens at that point. I know one thing – gymnastics is a very big part of my life.