Liukin on 2012: "That's What My Plan Is"

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Many were shocked, and fans were thrilled, when Olympic Champ Nastia Liukin announced earlier this year that she was heading back into the gym, and gearing up for future competition.

A few months after she made that major decision—she told Inside in April that she didn’t completely recommit to training until March—Liukin is cautious, but confident about her progress and future in the sport.

“Everything is good,” she told Inside earlier this month about her training. “It’s still slow. I’m still traveling kind of a lot. The things I’m doing now are either really, really important or prior commitments I made before I even knew what I was going to be doing. I’m trying to limit [traveling] as much as possible. Gymnastics is the most important to me right now.”

Though the always-svelte Liukin has never looked out of shape—“everybody keeps telling me that: good genes,” Liukin demurred in a previous chat, “but I definitely see it”—she calls this comeback-in-progress one of the hardest things she’s ever attempted.

“I’ve definitely never been through this, not even when I was hurt for a year and a half,” Liukin explains. “My dad has never been through this: coaching an Olympic champion, and then have them trying to come back. It’s a whole learning process for everyone. It’s frustrating at times, but as long as my heart and determination are still there and, of course, my body allows it. As long as that’s all still there—and right now it is—gymnastics is the most important thing to me. Hopefully it will stay that way for the next three years.

“That’s what my plan is,” Liukin adds confidently. “To be around and compete and represent the U.S. again at the highest level. That’s where my passion is and what I love to do.”

Not that Liukin isn’t open to making a few allowances for her status. As the Olympic All-Around Champion, she’s spent much of the 10 months since her win traveling and taking in all it means to be a gold medalist. A well-deserved break, according to Nastia’s dad-coach, Valeri.

“Before the Olympics, the biggest vacation she’s had in her life is three days,” Valeri told Inside earlier this year. “That’s it. I wanted her to get out of the gym, live life.”

But trying to do it all—enjoy the fruits of her medal and stay competitive—isn’t easy.

“It’s such a hard thing,” Liukin says of returning to the gym. “I’ve never experienced anything like this. The frustration is definitely there sometimes. I’m not used to not being in shape and having to do all this travel is really what kills me; what sets me back a little bit.

“Before the Olympics, my dad really didn’t like me traveling—at all,” she adds with a wry laugh. “Sometimes I was like, ‘Why can’t I?’ But now I’m glad my dad was my coach. If I had traveled, I know I couldn’t have done what I did, achieved what I did. (giggles) You know, he’s a pretty smart guy.”

Used to being the best, Liukin is open to the idea of abstaining from the all-around and doing bars and beam only, at least for the 2009 season.

“It’s been such a hectic year, and the amount of training I’m able to get in is definitely not the same as before the Olympics,” Liukin admits. “I really don’t want to put myself out there if I’m not ready. I’ve never gone to a competition not being 100 percent, or at least having given 100 percent in the gym. It’s a whole different ball game, taking this kind of time off. If I’m not ready to do all four events, I’m not going to push myself and go out there and do that.

“You know, the Olympic Champion is the best in the world and, at the end of the day, I still have those expectations for myself,” she adds. “I want to keep that mindset, [of being] the best in the world. That’s kind of what we strive for. It’s always been that way.”

As to when Liukin will decide whether or not to attempt all four events at USAs, or possibly Worlds, she’s leaving all her options open.

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