Golden Moment

For months, the gold medal has hung there, tempting her, teasing her, motivating her.

Several times a day, every time she went into her room, Nastia Liukin would see the shining medal that her father, Valeri, had won two decades earlier, back when he competed for the Soviet Union in the Seoul Olympics.

Now, in her 18th year, Nastia had constructed a small inspiration board for herself, filled with little messages and reminders. And one day her mother, Anna, also a former Soviet gymnast, had draped the medal across it.

This is what success looks like, the message said.

Try to see if you can get one of your own.

Friday, Liukin did. With a brilliant balance beam and a solid floor exercise, Liukin slipped past teammate Shawn Johnson for the gold medal in the all-around. And as she did, she erased the injuries and questions that had lingered since her surgery to remove bone chips in her ankle.

“It makes it a little sweeter,” Liukin said, “when you consider the injuries and the doubters. This journey has been so long. Everything pays off at this moment.”

Recently, Liukin had been overshadowed by Johnson, her rival, roommate and friend. And Johnson was impressive. If she had won, no one would have batted an eye (or asked for her age). But as the final scores were flashed, Johnson smiled, brushed away her tears and embraced Liukin.

“She deserved the gold,” Johnson said. “She has worked so hard. I gave my heart and soul out there, but it was her day today.”

Actually, it was a day for the entire Liukin family. Twenty years ago, Liukin won gold medals in the team competition and on the high bar, but lost the all-around title by a tenth of a point and had to settle for the silver. The way he remembers it, his mistake came on the high bar. He landed well, but his arms wheeled in a circle as he tried to keep his balance. His score was 9.90. Not quite enough.

“I hope this makes up for that mistake a little bit,” Nastia said. “He was so close.”

Told of her comment later, Valeri smiled. “It doesn’t make up for it this much,” he said, holding his fingers an inch apart. “It makes up for it this much.” And then the father stood on his tiptoes and reached as high as he could.

“I am king of the world today,” he said.

Liukin became the second straight American woman to win the all-around, joining Carly Patterson from four years ago. Only those two and Mary Lou Retton have won the all-around for the United States, and the U.S. had never gone 1-2 before.

All these years later, and Valeri is her coach. Most days, he admits, he pushes a little and prods a little. But as Valeri stood in the mixed zone, he admitted he had transformed into her father once more.

“It’s a feeling I don’t think any father can describe,” he said.

It was almost 16 years ago, when Nastia was 2 1/2 years old, that he brought his family from Russia to America. The family goes back every year to visit Nastia’s grandparents, but she jokes that when they do, the locals make fun of her accent when she speaks Russian.

“All the years I’ve spent in America, I feel more like an American than a Russian,” she said. “But I am proud of my heritage. I feel like I represented both countries.”

Valeri, who runs a gymnastics facility in Plano, Texas, says the same.

“I love America,” he said. “They gave me my opportunity. I don’t think I would be able to make such moments in Russia.”

To be honest, Valeri thought his daughter was ready to compete in the Olympics four years ago. But she was too young then, and at 18, there were those who suspected she might be too old this time. Perhaps because Liukin looks old enough to babysit some of the other competitors, Johnson seemed to be the popular choice for the gold.

“She’s a tiger inside,” Valeri said.

Outside, she is a champion. Now Nastia has a gold of her own to drape across her motivational board.

“Ah, but I won four (medals, two golds and two silvers),” Valeri said, laughing.

On this day, his daughter laughed along. After all, time is on her side.

Comments

[BasicMath]

They finally beat the chinese. What bothers me is the 16 year old age requirement. THERE IS NO WAY THOSE CHINESE GYMNIST WERE 16!!! A couple of them CLEARLY still had their baby teeth and no sign of even a training bra between them!! Are they serious to think people cant see that?