Anastasia Liukin was born to Anna and Valeri in Moscow, Russia, on October 30, 1989. At the age of two and a half, her parents moved from Russia to the United States. Nastia currently resides in Plano, Texas. She trains at World Olympic Gymnastics Academy. She competed at her first meet at the age of six. Her dad is a former world champion in men's artistic gymnastics. Her mom was a rhythmic gymnast.

In 1998, she competed as a level six. At the Texas State Championships, Nastia won the all-around title. In 1999, she moved up to level nine. She finished fourth all-around at Regionals. She finished third all-around at the 2000 Plano Classic as a level nine. In 2001, Nastia competed as a level ten at the WOGA Classic. She finished second all-around. At the 2002 WOGA Classic, she competed in the junior international elite division. Nastia finished sixth all-around. At the Pikes Peak Cup, she finished second on beam and floor.

Her first year as a junior international elite was in 2002. She qualified to this level at the Elite Zone Meet in San Antonio, Texas. Her next meet was the National Elite Podium Meet. Nastia finished sixteenth all-around. She was officially an elite at the American Classic. She finished in the top fifteen all-around. Before the elite summer season, she competed at the IGHOF Classic and WOGA Elite Zones. She won both of the meets. At the US Classic, Nastia placed third all-around! She qualified for the US National Championships. At Nationals, Nastia fell hard on her first event and did not finish the routine. On the next seven events, she had to hit great routines. Nastia moved up to fifteenth all-around, making the US National Team! She was selected for the USA v. Canada competition. She finished third all-around. At the Junior Pan Am Games, she finished second all-around! She also won two silvers, one on bars and the other on beam.

Nastia continued competing as a junior international elite in 2003. She won all five gold medals at the WOGA Classic. She also helped the WOGA team win. At the Parkette Invitational, Nastia won the all-around and vault title. Her next competition was the USA v. Japan meet. She finished first on everything except for vault. At the national Elite Podium Meet, she won four golds. Once again she did not win vault. Her first big elite meet of the season was the American Classic. She won the all-around title! The Team Cup competition was held the next day. Nastia beat several seniors to win the all-around crown again. At the IGHOF Classic, she finished first all-around. In the summer, she competed at the US Classic in Texas. She won five gold medals! At the US National Championships, Nastia finished first on everything except for vault. She was then selected for the Pan American Games. Nastia finished second all-around to Chellsie Memmel. She also finished first on beam. This was very good as this was a senior competition. She had an undefeated season when she competed as a junior. In 2004, Nastia won the WOGA Classic. She then won the American Classic. Nastia won bars, beam and floor as well as the all-around crown. At the Team Cup competition, she won the all-around title again. Nastia then competed at the Pacific Alliance Championships in Hawaii. She won the all-around, bars, beam and floor titles. She also helped the team win. Nastia's final 2004 meet was the USA National Championships. She successfully defended her title from the year before. She also won bars, beam and floor.

She began competing as a senior international elite in 2005. She swept the gold medals at the WOGA Classic. At the American Cup, Nastia finished first on beam. In 2005, the American Cup was a world cup event. It did not have an all-around competition. Nastia went to Europe with several members of the national team. They competed against Great Britain and then went to Switzerland for a meet. She won the all-around title at both competitions. After a few months off, the top gymnasts met for the US Classic. Nastia won the all-around, bars and beam title! At the US National Championships, she won her first senior national title. She also won bars and beam. Nastia then competed at the World Championships. She finished second all-around by .001. Nastia also won two gold medals, one on beam and the other on bars. She finished her medal collection with a silver on floor.

2006 was the first year with the new code of points. She started her season by winning the Tyson American Cup, which had an all-around competition. She then went to the Senior Pacific Alliance Championships. Nastia won the all-around and bars title. At the US Classic, she had a couple of falls. At Nationals, she defended her national team. Nastia won bars and beam again. Unfortunately, Nastia had a bad ankle injury that kept her out of the all-around competition at Worlds. She still won a silver on bars. Nastia had ankle surgery after returning home.

She faced a long recovery in 2007. At the American Classic, she only competed on balance beam. She had the highest score. She earned a spot on the Pan American Games Team. She competed on bars and beam, helping the United States to gold. In event finals, she placed second on bars and beam. She returned to the all-around at US Nationals. She won bars and placed second on beam. She finished third all-around. At the World Championships, she qualified to bars, beam and all-around finals. She helped the United States win the team gold. During all-around finals, she fell on beam. Nastia won a silver medal on bars and a gold medal on beam.

She opened 2008 by winning the American Cup. At the Pacific Rim Championships, she won the all-around and assisted the United States team to victory. During event finals, she fell on her geinger but still placed second. She won beam. Nastia had a rough day one at US Nationals but came back to place second all-around. She won bars and beam. She continued to improve at Olympic Trials. At the Olympic Games, she competed on bars, beam and floor in team finals. The United States team finished second. She then won the all-around title! During event finals, she placed second on bars and beam. She finished third on floor.

Fast Facts Name: Nastia Liukin Birthday: Oct. 30, 1989 Club: WOGA Level: Sr. Int'l Elite Official Website WOGA

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS Seven-Time National Team Member 2008: Olympic Champion 2007: World Championships- 2nd UB, 1st BB 2006: World Championships- 2nd UB 2006: US National Champion 2005 IGHOF Gymnast of the Year 2004: Pacific Alliance Champion 2006: American Cup Champion 2005: Worlds - 1st UB/BB, 2nd AA/FX 2005: US National Champion 2004: US National Champion 2004: Pacific Alliance Champion 2003: US National Champion

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