Nastia Liukin, world-renown Senior International Elite gymnast and Olympic gold medalist, is known for her exceptional athletic ability and charming demeanor. She is a five time Olympic medalist, four time World Champion, nine time world medalist, four time US National Champion and has won two American Cup titles and both a Senior and Junior Pacific Rim Championship. Following her success in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Nastia was named FIG Athlete of the Year. In 2007 she joined 1996 Olympic gold medalist Shannon Miller as the most decorated American gymnast in a World Championship competition.

Liukin was born in 1989 in Moscow, Russia and is the only child of two former Soviet champion gymnasts. Her family moved to the United States when she was just two and a half years old, after the breakup of the Soviet Union. The family spent a brief time in New Orleans before finally settling in Texas. In 1994, Valeri Liukin teamed with another former Soviet champion athlete, Evgeny Marchenko, to open the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy (WOGA) in Plano.

Liukin began gymnastics at the age of three because she was always hanging around the gym with her parents who could not afford a babysitter to look after her while they were working as coaches. Liukin's parents did not initially aspire for their daughter to become a gymnast, knowing the pressure of high-level competition firsthand. However, her parents relented when they noticed Nastia's aptitude for the sport.

Nastia is bilingual; fluent in both English and Russian. She graduated form Spring Creek Academy in 2007, and enrolled as a freshman in international business at Southern Methodist University in January 2008, but took a leave from her classes to prepare for the 2008 Olympic Games. She returned to campus in 2009, but is on hiatus while she manages a career outside of the gym.

Liukin competed in her first National Championships as a junior in 2002 at the age of 12. Liukin suffered a fall on the uneven bars which made her unable to finish the routine. However, she was still able to finish in 15th place and landed her one of the final spots on the U.S. national Team. She was chosen to compete with the U.S. team at the 2002 Junior Pan American Championships, where she contributed to the team gold medal and placed second on the uneven bars, balance beam and all-around.

By 2003, Luikin was one of the strongest junior gymnasts in the United States. She won the junior division of the U.S. National Championships, as well as gold medals on three of the four events. She repeated these accomplishments in 2004.

In 2005, Nastia won her first senior National Championships and, once again, earned gold medals on the bars and beam. At the 2005 World Championships in Melbourne she finished second in the AA. She was able to win gold in the event finals for the uneven bars and balance beam, and she won silver on the floor exercise.

In March 2006, Liukin placed first in the all-around at the American Cup. At the 2006 Pacific Alliance Championships, Liukin tied with teammate Memmel for first in the all around. She also won the uneven bars title and contributed to the U.S. team's gold medal. At the 2006 U.S. National Championships, Liukin successfully defended her all-around, beam and bars titles, becoming a two-time senior National Champion. She was named to the U.S. team for the 2006 World Gymnastics Championships in Aarhus, Denmark, and was expected by many to be a strong contender for the all-around title. However, due to an ankle injury sustained in training, she was only able to compete in one event. In spite of her injury, Liukin's bars set earned a 16.2, the highest score of any competitor on any apparatus in the meet.

Liukin's ankle injury required surgery, and the recovery period kept her out of both national and international competition for much of the year. In July 2007, although she was still recovering from her injury, she returned to competition as a member of the American team for the Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro. She contributed to the team's gold medal finish and won individual silver medals in both events.

Liukin also competed at the 2007 U.S. National Championships and posted the highest score of the entire meet on bars and the second highest score on beam on the second day of competition, winning the senior bars title for the third year in a row and placing second on beam.

Following Nationals, Liukin was named to the American team for the World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, competing in the all-around, bar, and beam. At the 2008 Olympics Liukin qualified for three event finals including beam, uneven bars and floor exercise which was more than any other American competitor. Her uneven bars score of 16.900 was the highest mark awarded in the entire competition.

On August 15, Liukin performed clean routines on all four events to win the all-around gold medal, beating Olympic roommate and friend Shawn Johnson. During her routine she wore a bright pink leotard, which has now become her signature color. She won the hearts of audiences the world over, and on her return home Nastia solidified her place as America's sweetheart.

Nastia has also found wide success outside of the gym. She has been featured in a number of international and national television advertising campaigns, and in 2006 had a small speaking role in the hit gymnastics-themed movie, "Stick It." Nastia has said that she would like to continue to pursue any acting and modeling opportunities. The decorated gymnast also has a line of GK Gymnastics Leotards and grips and a line of pink gymnastics equipment form AAI. She also has a clothing line, Supergirl by Nastia, which will soon be available in JC Penney stores.

As for her gymnastics aspirations, Nastia takes it one day at a time enjoying all of the challenges and opportunities that the sport brings her. Rather than dimming her drive to compete, her Olympic experience has only fuelled Nastia's desire to return to competition. She returned to full time training in January 2009 with a new set of goals and dreams. As she has throughout her career, Nastia is only interested in talking about short-term goals taking her gymnastics journey day by day, enjoying achieving and setting new goals for herself along the way. As to 2012 and a return to the Olympics ... only time will tell.