Nastia celebrated the one year anniversary of her Beijing triumph by taking another step in her return to competition, a performance on balance beam in front of a home town crowd in Dallas at the VISA Championships. Having originally planned to compete two events at the Championships Nastia decided during podium training before the event that she was still a little underprepared to perform on the uneven bars saying, “I didn’t feel confident enough to just chuck a routine. I’m just not that kind of person. I’m doing my full routine, except for the dismount separate. But I feel like it’s my event and I don’t want to go out there and perform it if I don’t feel confident and ready. It just isn’t worth it. Don’t get me wrong, Nationals are very important, but there are more important things that lie ahead this year, like Worlds. I’m on the right track, I just have to keep pushing this way. I have a few more months.” While she is also not yet competing full difficulty on beam she did debut a new skill (aerial cartwheel), an upgraded dismount from her recent Covergirl Classic performance and proved that even Olympic Champions get nervous … especially when competing in front of a hometown crowd telling Inside Gymnastics after prelims, “When they announced my name and hearing the crowd—knowing it’s a home crowd too—everything kind of boils up and comes together.” Nastia scored 14.450 in the prelims and a 14.700 in finals to earn 4th place on the event saying of her performance, “There’s nothing to hide. I’m not in shape yet. I’m not ashamed of that. I’m proud of my accomplishments and everything I’ve done. Do I wish I was more in shape? Of course. What athlete wants to go out there and perform not at their best? But given the circumstances and all the obligations that I’ve had, this is where I have to be right now.” Her performance was enough to secure a place on the 2009/10 National Team and an invitation to the world team selection camp later in the year where the next chapter of her comeback will unfold. During the course of the Championships Nastia, her father Valeri and WOGA were all honoured by USA Gymnastics. On the first night of women’s competition, USA Gymnastics honoured the Olympic accomplishments of WOGA. WOGA gymnasts have earned an impressive 21 world and Olympic medals, including Carly Patterson’s two world and four Olympic medals and Nastia’s nine world and five Olympic medals. “Nastia and Carly’s back-to-back accomplishment is virtually unprecedented,” said USA Gymnastics President Steve Penny. “It is one thing for athletes to come from the same country, but another for them to come from the same country, city and club. It is important to bring special attention to this unique achievement.” Nastia then joined all of the 2008 Olympians on the final night of competition in a celebration of their achievements last summer. At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, the US team amassed its greatest medal haul since the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The 10 medal tally – two gold, six silver and two bronze – is the most earned by the USA in gymnastics in a non-boycotted Olympic Games. As is tradition USA Gymnastics announced its annual awards at the conclusion of the Championships. Nastia was presented with two awards; USAG Athlete of the Year and USAG Sportswoman of the Year (as voted by her peers) while Valeri was named as USAG Coach of the Year.
Nastia has been named as Best Female Athlete at the 2009 ESPY Awards in a ceremony in Los Angeles this evening! Congratulations Nastia! Thank you to all of Nastia’s fans for your support!
“@Nliukin OMGOMGOMG!!!!!!!! THANK YOU EVERYONE SOOO MUCH!!!!! I won BEST FEMALE ATHLETE!!!!!!!!!!!! All because of you guys!!!!!!!!” http://www.twitter.com/NLiukin - follow Nastia on Twitter for more! Congratulations to Shawn Johnson (Nastia’s Beijing teammate) who collected the Best Olympian award. A great achievement for USA Gymnastics! Watch the 2009 ESPYs this Sunday at 8PM Central on ESPN! More photos and information to follow!
Nastia has been nominated in two catagories in 2009 ESPY Awards - Best Female Athlete & Best US Female Olympian. The ESPYS are the one night each year where athletes from all sports join together to celebrate the best moments of the year. The awards ceremoney will take place on Wednesday, `5 July at the Nokia Theater in downtown Los Angeles and will be hosted by Samuel L. Jackson. Fans will determine the winners in 37 categories through online and mobile phone voting that begins today (25 June) and runs through July 11. Be sure to visit ESPYS.TV to support Nastia’s nominations! More information to follow!
Nastia has been named among five finalists for the 79th Annual AAU Sullivan Award, which honors the outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. Other finalists are Olympic teammates Shawn Johnson, North Carolina basketball player Tyler Hansbrough, Stanford volleyball player Cynthia Barboza, and the U.S. Olympic men’s 4×100 freestyle relay team. The winner will be chosen by votes cast by AAU officials, U.S. Olympic Committee members and college sports information directors, with those cast online by fans counting one-third toward the final tally. Fan voting ended March 27, and the winner will be announced on April 15.
Nastia has been named amongst 12 amateur athletes chosen as a semifinalist for the 79th Annual AAU James E. Sullivan Award. Olympic teammates Shawn Johnson and Jonathan Horton were also included nominated as semifinalists. Known as the “Oscar” of sports awards and older than The Heisman, the AAU Sullivan Award honors the outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. It has been presented annually by the AAU since 1930 as a salute to founder and past president of the Amateur Athletic Union, and a pioneer in amateur sports, James E. Sullivan. Based on the qualities of leadership, character, sportsmanship, and the ideals of amateurism, the AAU Sullivan Award goes far beyond athletic accomplishments and honors those who have shown strong moral character. Kurt Thomas (1979) and Paul Hamm (2004) are the only gymnasts to have won this honor. For more information, visit AAUSullivan.com. Fans may vote online at USAToday.com, and voting information will be announced soon. The winner will be announced on April 15 at the New York Athletic Club.
Nastia has been name USOC SportsWoman of the Year alongside swimmer Natalie Coughlin. Michael Phelp was named SportsMan of the Year. The USOC SportsMan and SportsWoman of the Year awards have been presented annually since 1974 to the top overall male and female athlete from within the USOC member organizations. The team award was added in 1996 and the Paralympian of the Year was awarded for the first time in 2004. Winners are selected from the individual female and male athlete of the year and team of the year nominations of the USOC and National Governing Bodies for the Olympic, Pan American, Affiliated and Disabled Sports Organizations within the U.S. Olympic Movement. Former gymnastics winners of USOC annual awards are: SportsWoman – Kim Zmeskal (1991) and Carly Patterson (2004); and Team – U.S. Women’s World Championships Teams (2003 and 2007).
Following a worldwide public ballot Nastia has been voted the United States Sports Academy’s 2008 Female Athlete of the Year. Olympic gold medalists claimed the top three spots in both the male and female categories with Nastia finishing ahead of diver Guo Jinjing (China) and tennis player Serena Williams (USA). In the men’s ballot Michael Phelps (USA) edged Rodger Federer (Switzerland) and Usain Bolt (Jamaica). The United States Sports Academy Athlete of the Year award is the culmination of the Academy’s year long Athlete of the Month program, which recognizes the accomplishments of men and women in sports around the world. The Academy’s Athlete of the Month is selected by an international voting committee of former athletes, media, sports organizations and governing bodies. Thank you to everyone who voted for Nastia.
Nastia has been nominated for the United States Sports Academy’s 2008 Female Athlete of the Year. The award, presented annually, recognizes the accomplishments of men and women in any sport from around the globe. Nominations are made by a committee comprised of former athletes, media, sports organizations and governing bodies from around the world. Past winners of the award include: Lance Armstrong, Barry Bonds, Mia Hamm, Michael Jordan, Annika Sorenstam, Tiger Woods and fellow WOGA gymnast Carly Patterson. Nastia also received a nomination for this award in 2005. Starting 1 December, sports fans worldwide can vote online for the 2008 United States Sports Academy Athlete of the Year, presented by USATODAY.com and NBCSports.com. Last year, the ballot attracted nearly half a million votes from around the globe. Votes will be collected from 1-24 December. The ballot will be located on a website hosted by the Academy and will be available through direct links from USATODAY.com Sports content and NBCSports.com. To support Nastia and submit your vote, visit http://www.usatoday.com/sports/front.htm, http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/28000687/ or http://vote.ussa.edu/aoy.
At the 77th FIG Congress in Helsinki, Finland the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) announced Nastia as their Athlete of the Year. Click here to read their press release.
Nastia celebrated the one year anniversary of her Beijing triumph by taking another step in her return to competition, a performance on balance beam in front of a home town crowd in Dallas at the VISA Championships. Having originally planned to compete two events at the Championships Nastia decided during podium training before the event that she was still a little underprepared to perform on the uneven bars saying, “I didn’t feel confident enough to just chuck a routine. I’m just not that kind of person. I’m doing my full routine, except for the dismount separate. But I feel like it’s my event and I don’t want to go out there and perform it if I don’t feel confident and ready. It just isn’t worth it. Don’t get me wrong, Nationals are very important, but there are more important things that lie ahead this year, like Worlds. I’m on the right track, I just have to keep pushing this way. I have a few more months.”
During the course of the Championships Nastia, her father Valeri and WOGA were all honoured by USA Gymnastics. On the first night of women’s competition, USA Gymnastics honoured the Olympic accomplishments of WOGA. WOGA gymnasts have earned an impressive 21 world and Olympic medals, including Carly Patterson’s two world and four Olympic medals and Nastia’s nine world and five Olympic medals. “Nastia and Carly’s back-to-back accomplishment is virtually unprecedented,” said USA Gymnastics President Steve Penny. “It is one thing for athletes to come from the same country, but another for them to come from the same country, city and club. It is important to bring special attention to this unique achievement.” Nastia then joined all of the 2008 Olympians on the final night of competition in a celebration of their achievements last summer. At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, the US team amassed its greatest medal haul since the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The 10 medal tally – two gold, six silver and two bronze – is the most earned by the USA in gymnastics in a non-boycotted Olympic Games. As is tradition USA Gymnastics announced its annual awards at the conclusion of the Championships. Nastia was presented with two awards; USAG Athlete of the Year and USAG Sportswoman of the Year (as voted by her peers) while Valeri was named as USAG Coach of the Year.
