Gymnast Nastia Liukin on Preparing for the London 2012 Olympics
During the last Summer Olympics, the 2008 Beijing Games, Nastia Liukin emerged as America's sweetheart. She won the most coveted prize in the sport of gymnastics, the individual-all around gold, and helped the U.S. team earn a silver medal—all while wearing her signature hot pink leotard. Since then, she's taken some time off from the sport to study at Southern Methodist University in Dallas and pursue her interest in fashion, but Nastia is back in action for the London Games. As one of the more senior members of the U.S. gymnastics team this time around, she's focusing her efforts on helping the group win the gold, proving that poise and persistence are patriotic. Read on to learn about Nastia's beauty and health tips and post-London plans.
Mitchell Haaseth/NBC1/7The 22-year-old gold medalist reveals why she decided to compete again and her goals for the Summer Games.
Photo: Mitchell Haaseth/NBC Olympics2/7"These past few years, I've taken a little bit of time off from training for seven hours a day and have had a very different lifestyle. I went to college and travelled. Getting back into the gym and adjusting to a full-time gymnast's schedule—I'm not going to lie—has been hard. But I've been enjoying the journey. I had these visions of being in London whether or not I was on the team, and I didn't want to think and have those regrets if I didn't try to make the team. That's what's brought me back to the gym."
Photo: Mitchell Haaseth/NBC Olympics3/7"I've always had to deal with nerves. I remember asking my dad, 'why am I so nervous?' He said that it's important to be nervous because that means you care about what you're doing. Enforcing positive thinking and visualizing my routines in my head has always helped me, too."
"Music is essential to my training. I love all genres of music except for techno (it just makes me feel like I'm in a European club). I like Coldplay, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, and a mix of artists. I'm the oldest at our gym by many years, so we listen to a lot of Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez."
Photo: Mitchell Haaseth/NBC Olympics4/7"2008 was the prime of my gymnastics career. It was always my big dream to win the Olympic all-around gold medal, and so being able to achieve that was something that I will never forget. But now, going into London it's a little bit of a different story. I'm probably only going to be doing two events, so I'm really trying to help out the team, especially on the uneven bars because that's my strongest event. Missing out on the team gold medal in 2008 and winning the silver has definitely kept us striving for more."
Photo: Mitchell Haaseth/NBC Olympics5/7"My top beauty tips are to drink lots of water and keep your face clean. Because we sweat so much in the gym—and I live in Dallas and it gets to be over 100 degrees outside in the summer—it's important to wash your face after every training session. I don't really wear too much makeup when I am training. I wear NARS foundation and the 'Laguna' bronzer."
"I drink of water; it's so important, especially when I am training seven hours a day. The worst thing is for my body to get dehydrated because my muscles cramp up. I eat a lot of protein. I don't eat as many carbs as a lot of other athletes. Before a competition, I usually eat a piece of grilled salmon or chicken and some vegetables."
Photo: Mitchell Haaseth/NBC Olympics6/7"I have a line with the leotard company GK, so every month I design about six leotards and it’s really fun. A lot of people write a songs or poetry, but I de-stress by pulling out my fabric swatches and designing leotards. I love fashion outside of the gym—I’ve been to Fashion Week and am so inspired by the collections. Marchesa is one of my favorite designers, and on a day-to-day basis, I like Alice + Olivia, BCBG, and Citizens of Humanity, and Victoria’s Secret’s Pink line is really popular at my gym."
Photo: Mitchell Haaseth/NBC Olympics7/7"I'm just trying to take it one day at a time and to not get too overwhelmed. I'm looking forward to going back to college after the Olympics. I actually only did one semester and my ACT scores expired, so now I'm taking the ACT's again and hoping to go to NYU next year. I think I'd like to study sports management. I'm really excited to move to New York for a few years and see how that goes. That's my next big goal and dream."
