Nastia Liukin regains the world title on balance beam

[@joannakroyd]

Definitely miss Nastia!, she was a unique talent. She was, in her fathers own words a "fragile" gymnast. She may not have been very powerful (for a gymnast),but they took her strengths and turned her into an Olympic Champion and THAT should be an inspiration to all gymnasts!!! She made I t with basically front tumbling only and while I appreciate the strengths in the double doubles, etc...the grace and elegance at its finest....

[@Tigerheiress]

i was very much like her (NOT as good of course) but i wasnt a very powerful tumbler when i did competitive gymnastics. my russian teachers really liked me because i was so flexible, but the gym i was at favored power gymnasts. i do ballet now so i wish i had someone who couldve played to my strengths. who knows maybe i couldve become really good. oh well

[@jojox9791]

+Queensofprep870 yes, she was a rare talent. the gymnastics world is geared more towards the power gymnasts, BUT..have you seen the gymnasts from the Netherlands? they have managed to use the code to their advantage by upping their D scores with dance elements. They do pretty simple tumbling passes, which may not win gold medals but they are doing well and are gorgeous to watch!! I was the opposite, I was a power gymnast and despised dance class lol.

[@kiersontitus7322]

@QPHashSS77 Artistic gymnastics is supposed to showcase the artistry and dance as it's also a compulsory requirement... You have no idea what ballerina's go through in order to execute their moves as gymnasts would be considered weak compared to their lower body strength as dancers usually showcase lines of artistry that gymnasts these days don't have as they're too obsessed with coming up with more difficult power tumbling moves to where most of the apparatus including beam, bars, and floor have basically become compulsory as there isn't any diversity within the combinations in bars with stalders, van leuweens, jaegers, tkatchevs, beam with at least a full, backhandspring with two layouts, WOLF TURNS, and double double, double pike dismounts. With floor, the tumblings include Silivas, Chusovitina, double saltos in general, and a single turn. And with VAULT, I usually see a double twisting or an amanar or a handspring front 2 and a half to the point where there isn't any uniqueness towards vault anymore. Try practicing in pointe for 6-8 hours without having your feet hurt to the point where it's numb and a toenail comes off!

[@joelle4844]

@@jojox9791 thank you for pointing out the netherlands. they are powerful, but they sure are elegant. e.g. sanne wevers

[@joelle4844]

@@kiersontitus7322 ive been a ballerina for 3/4 of my life and i was a gymnast also. i must say, ballet is harder in my opinion. it takes a lot of core strength, leg muscles, balance, timing, technicality, emotion/expression, etc. to be a great ballerina. ballet comes with a lot more requirements than gymnastics does. whereas i enjoy watching gymnastics more, i think ballet is far more elegant, peaceful, graceful and for sure, a lot more work.

[@RayCash48]

I love how she was giving out her autograph when she found out she won and she just immediately drops the pens after finishing with a huge smile. and runs and hugs her dad it's was so adorable

[@nathaliexlr8]

Back then Nastia connected the Onodi and the wolf jump a tad bit more than she did in the 2008 Olympics, but here she still did not really connect her free front walkover and her back walkover. Starting from 2008, she also began to see the beam a split-second before landing on her switch split ring leap. Other than those, all her beam routines were done with mind-blowing execution. Still my favourite gymnast to this day.

[@LuisMiguel2191]

She was so elegance and gracefull.

[@itsEmmaa]

if doing gymnastic for 10 years.
i'm from the netherlands and she always was my idol.
she does everything so perfect.
i stoped with gymnastic because it was so hard to came on the top.
and i'm proud of her that she never gived up
she is great!
sorry for bad english ;$

[@builtdifferent18]

She’s so graceful! She is one of the very best at gymnastics

[@stingrayrose4324]

She looks tall and has really long legs and arms, a beautiful gymnast:)

[@aarulf]

Nastia's mom was a rhythmic gymnast and so that plays a part in the gracefulness of Nastia.

[@sandranorman5469]

Alex Arulf Nastia’s Mom would leave the gymnasium when she marched out with her teammates. She could not stand to watch Nastia perform her routines. Have a tape of the 08 all-around in Beijing and it ran over. She ran to call her mother but apparently her mom had turned off her phone.

[@gymnasticsrat94]

I am so glad she won back her world title.

[@lexig15]

I love Nastia so much, miss her in gymnastics!!! Why do they have to pronounce her last name wrong? Not trying to be mean, but it bothers me when they pronounce her last name wrong,

[@mikeymikeondamic7498]

Incredible gymnast and an incredibly beautiful woman.

[@shane802]

Nastia-beauty and grace personified in gymnastics! Love ya! GO USA! GO USA!

[@showjumperluvr4]

she has such beautiful lines :)

[@iHaTeSwEeTtEa]

i love how happy she is to win its nice to see!!

[@chanelagerfeld]

All the gymnasts are so easy to describe in one word;
Nastia: Elegant,
Shawn: Strong,
Sacramone: Powerful,
all the Chinese Gymnasts: Delicate

[@rosek102]

That was funny how she stopped in the middle of signing an autograph to run and hug her dad/coach. So cute! I really hope Nastia returns for the 2012 Olympics.

[@innachka03]

why do people feel the need to say bad things...she is amazing...yes 2007 was not her year...but she is back better than ever

[@481095ymg2]

yeah i agree. y did everybody thumb down my first comment? it's true that this wasn't her best. nastia is my favorite gymnast. what was her best is the olympic beam final. i still think that she deserved gold here, though.

[@4Mr.Crowley2]

I loved her incredible grace last time round. She clearly has a ballerina's form, which makes for the grace and beauty of her movements.

[@tumble2796]

she's sooooo graceful!!!

[@ChainChomp2]

Her mom didn't come the past events Nastia was part of in Stuttgart where Nastia messed up but when she showed up to cheer her daughter in the beam final loud enough for us to hear Nastia got gold :D!

[@aeiva]

regardless of looks or likes, shawn is a great athlete and a great competitor

[@213phattown]

pssh. i can do that. hold my beer.

[@almazoleta1737]

lasing kaba pre

[@unhojin5182]

THAT SWITCH RING THO

[@ryanhb22]

Ok, to all the people who have crap to say about Nastia or her routine...screw off. Seriously, your all just mad your not the kind of gymnast she is. Face it, you'll never be as amazing or as talented as her. So she had a wobble or two...who cares. Shes done multiple flawless routines in competition and she deserves to win. Now get over yourselves and accept the fact that shes the best. She wouldn't have won the olympics if she wasn't.

[@liina000]

loved when she and her dad hugged. just pure happiness.

[@willsbob123]

Excellent performance there by Nastia Liukin!!! She really did get alot of height on her two and a half twist! Great performance and beautiful, excellent work. I love Nastia, She's great. Her flick layout layout was a little wobbley, but, she pulled it back, great!

[@JamesB061]

my favorite gymnast

[@RebbecahIsrael]

Amazing!

[@wrapfilms]

Nastia lives about a town or 2 over from me. She is such a good gymnast.

[@JamesB061]

i love her so much.

[@ilovemagicwater]

I agree DavidArchuletah!!!! She deserved that 2nd gold medal!!

[@bogdanmikuta]

i love nastia luken and shawn jhonsen they are so good at gymnastics:} he he they are coooool

[@FLFerris05]

Wow Nastia!! You are great!

[@TheGymnastics108]

she is my favorite gymnast

[@LifeForLily]

AND they are best friends, and shared a room at the Olypics :)

[@lucianavillafane2351]

Nastia te adoroo

[@Cheeron222]

It's amazing how people can do that. I love it. :)

[@raidercheer5]

i always love her leotards.
they're all so pretty!

[@iHaTeSwEeTtEa]

her reaction is so happy its nice to see :)

[@shane802]

Raeanna5! Love your posts! The truth always will prevail. Nastia was trained in the U.S, is a U.S citizen and is just as much a Texas girl as any other Texas gal!! Love ya Nastia! Go USA

[@GeniusDolphin]

I miss her so much!

[@themaskedninja763]

in awe....absolutely amazed

[@showjumperluvr4]

beautiful free walkovers

[@Rosy220385]

Dio che linee meravigliose *_______*
E' sempre un grande piacere guardarla

[@roxysquareincairo4326]

Though Gabby Douglas was brilliant in London, the absence of Nastia Liuken at those 2012 Games kinda ruined the gymnastics event,,,,hope she comes back,,,,,nobody else has her grace and long legged lines.

[@cherylannemason]

Daniela Silivas and Svetlana Khorkina had that quality also--looks especially spectacular on bars and beam.

[@cayuutemakeup22]

Lol, I'm calm... It's just Nastia Liukin is like, my favorite person ever, and beam is my favotite event, so I get a bit defensive. And oh, you're welcome for the speech. Haha (:

[@Maike68]

girl, calm down!!
you're right, i don't know anything about this stuff but i also don't talk any shit about it or about her, i'm just talking about what it looks like to ME so don't be pissed!
and thank you for the lecturing btw ^.^

[@terry63lee]

Nastia's balance beam performance is the best

[@msms68]

GREAT JOB NASTIA YOU DESERVED IT GIRL

[@ToaMaster1619]

She's beautiful and her routine is aswell.

[@RegGlamCam]

with her body, she'd be an amazing rythmic gymnast, or even ballet.

[@cassie4965]

Skinnyness doesn't benefit you in those sports, those sports just happen to be riddled with eating disorders and body shaming and therefore have many very skinny athletes. I was a ballerina so I know first hand at least for ballet

[@shane802]

Nastia was raised here since she was two. She is a U.S citizen. My whole ancestry is from France, yet it was so sweet when Jason Lezak beat the French in the swimming relay. I was jumping up and down for the USA. I a U.S cititzen. So whats the point about Nastia being born in Russia? Go USA! Its not like she boarded a plane here 1 year ago and then decided to compete for the USA, unlike what Becky Hammon did playing for Russia.

[@drdenamichele]

Higher starting value for risk shows that even if routine is not polished, you can win.

[@nwafab4]

i love anstia liukin she is amazing!!:) she inspires me!!:)

[@KalexCullen]

She is so talented! nice!

[@BJABrsg]

I think that's an onodi it's pretty elegant :)

[@Nann27]

I'll admit I don't know much about gymanstics other than what I've seen on the Olympics, but to me she is very artistic and elegant. I was mesmerized by her Olympic performances because she looked so much like a ballet dancer. I felt she brought a maturity and elegance that the other gymnasts lacked. To each her own I guess.

[@lazios]

finalmente ha vinto una ginnasta non solo potenza e sopratutto non una bimba..
l'eleganza e la grazia fatte persona..ed è anche bella..complimenti.

[@Cryo837]

America is a country of immigrants. ALL of us (except native Americans) are immigrants.
Valeri and Anna came to America with their baby daughter for the same reason ALL immigrants come here.
Nastia is as American as apple pie.
Congratulations to the elegant Nastia Liukin for her Gold Medal performance!!!!

[@moondog1997]

"All those wobbles"? I saw two.

[@gerritduplessis7122]

SPECTACULAR JOB, Mademoiselle!! fantastic!! bless you

[@biancalebron1965]

Good in gymnastics👌👌

[@loveinbabyCN]

she is great

[@HappyOannyBunny]

she looks so much like ana porgras...both amazing beam workers, so elegant!

[@mileycyruslvr101]

Are you freakin kidding me?! She. is. AMAZING!!!!

[@justin1gibson]

she just does beautiful gymnastics, it dosent hurt that she is just pretty much all legs!! i was an elite gymnast 1998-99, and i am built , alot like she is. It was really hard for me because you could see every mistake i made because of my long legs. it is alot easier for the girls who have short legs because it sort of hides little mistakes. When you have long legs like that you have to really watch your form.

[@LOVxxE]

@XxXHorseLoverXxX1 Its because they have no memorise it off by heart for every competition, and they have to feel comfortable when performing it! :D

[@TreyParkersBitch]

It's never too late. There was a 30 something year old who won the silver on the vault. Don't give up yet.

[@jonashorsefreak4]

YAY NASTIA!!!!

[@msms68]

SHE DID AWESOME

[@MaddieCEwing]

My mom and my friends and a lot of people say I look a lot like her!! And they say I'm flexible like her too. I'm NOT as flexible as her, she's amazing!

[@willsbob123]

Just because Nastia won! Grace verses power :S Err, Nastia wins! Shawn had a big balance check on beam, didn't complete her two and half twist on vault and she had a step on her landing on bars. Nastia didn't budge, she had one small step on bars and that's it!

[@CoCoNuTsiopatHic]

Nastia = Tremendous.

[@showjumperluvr4]

she looks so pretty! she is amazing! my favorite gymnast! XD

[@honeybun13]

Something great about this is she pulled it off so it looked like part of the routine even if it wasn't!

[@kittycatsrule86]

best twister ever

[@danceri110]

She's just beautiful.

[@cj222100]

I always liked her because she actually doesn't look like a little kid. Her figure looks more like a girl that's just in really good shape, as opposed to alot of them that look like they're 10.

[@Janilinda]

Nota mais que merecida!!!

[@jepsst]

That people is call stupid, Liukin is the best in the world :)

[@OmairKhan10]

wow that was awesome

[@0119alt]

its crazy how people can do a flip on a freaking beam! its crazy i wish i could do that

[@rosenicolesmythe]

1:51 she's looking for her score, and you can see in her smile the exact second she sees it! She's so cute.

[@verydenise]

you're so right. that's why idiots were insulting gabby's hair. first of all, way to focus on the important stuff: her winning gold! second: it looked fine!

[@MsMusicgirl23]

@OneThingITrulyKnew Ya they did but the reason the crowd cheered was because she recovered.

[@horsechic251]

awwwwww i luv her hair!

[@cindyirene2001]

As much as I like Shawn Johnson, Nastia was the better performer in the Olympics, stuck 3/4 landings in the AA, and overall had a little more difficulty. Shawn got silver, which is what she earned that night.

[@liznye333]

i get really jealous really easily. i mean, i wish i was her, doin my dream, but i know its already 2 late. im 13 and started when i was 8. i cant even do have of da things she does!!!! but with her, i am able 2 just watch, and be amazed. KEEP IT UP!

[@MidgetBuddie]

She makes it look SOOOOOOO easy!!!!1

[@JustSophiaL]

onodi. my favorite move

[@MagicalMukhina]

Nastia Liukin along with all the other modern gymnasts need to look back at the videos of gymnasts from the 70's, 80's, & 90's to understand what the word artistic gymnastics really means - these beautiful routines of yesterday are full of elegance & grace, dance and free from manic arm waving, endless tumbling runs, jerky movements & hesitation. Very very sad.

[@saragrant9749]

If you’re so enamored of the past, watch that and leave these athletes alone!’ There’s no need to demean these hard working athletes by whining about “the past.” The sport of artistic gymnastics is an ever evolving sport, with better equipment allowing for more exciting, explosive performances WITH interpretive dance and elegance. The competitions from the era you so gracelessly pine for were boring to a lot of people- predictable and more like a dance class than real gymnastics. I personally like both and don’t see any need to compare the two as they are completely different. People like you are what’s so wrong with the sport today.

[@MagicalMukhina]

@@saragrant9749 I left this comment 11 years ago and gymnastics since then has deteriorated even more - to such an extent in fact that the only requirements for a modern gymnast these days, is to spend countless hours a week lifting weights - so they resemble a Brick s__t house - which enables them to be able to perform hideous tumbling that has about as much grace and elegance as a blinkin elephant! Thanks though for your personal attack on me - so nice of you to stick to gymnastics!

[@saragrant9749]

@@MagicalMukhina you are the PIGGISH mendicant who personally attacked these athletes- and then followed suit by placing selfish judgement on them by complaining about their being able to actually be healthy, athletic people instead of being expected to be thin and starved by their coaches. You are the type of individual who should just put a gag on and act like you have no ability to communicate. When you grow up finally and learn not to be so nasty in your judgment of the APPEARANCE of others for your own childish gain, let the world know. It’s great to know that people like you, those who have to negatively judge others by their physical appearance and attributes are usually very inferior feeling and not nearly as talented as most others.

[@JackieFan123]

Her legs alone are taller than the Chinese!!!

[@dhuiofa2484]

fan ye was actually as tall as her at that time，and yang yilin is 165cm now which is the same height to khorkina

[@theshillneckedlizard8364]

Nastia is actually only five foot two. It's just that her legs are long in proportion to the rest of her body. She has her mother's build - if you watch videos of her mother, gymnast Anna Kotchneva, she has the same long-legged look although she's actually just as petite as Nastia.

[@tntboschee]

that was awesome

[@Playboyy1985]

i agree with you everybody in america are originally from europe or africa i dont have a problem with that i just have a problem with all these americans here talkin bad about other countries like america is perfect

[@MakeupPolishAction]

Nastia Liukin best Gymnast ever:))

[@Smomolyno]

JEALOUS

[@willsbob123]

Well most spectacular stuff results in falls or major deductions for wobbles. Nastia has the risk as you saw in the first pass, lovely routine, she only gave away 0.575 deductions.

[@sunnybaudelaire16]

she should be a dancer , not only would the grace help but the balance