INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Feb. 7, 2008— Four of the USA’s top gymnasts spend a lot time with their coaches both at the gym and at home – because they are coached by a parent!  Fans can hear first-hand how they separate what goes on in the gym from what happens at home, how being coached by a parent has helped them achieve gymnastics success and why being coached by a parent makes a great partnership in the newest episode of “USA Gymnastics:  Behind the Team,” the online series available only on the AT&T blue room Team USA site (www.attblueroom.com/teamusa).
 
  • Four-time world champion Nastia Liukin of Parker, Texas, is coached by her father, Valeri, who won four medals for the USSR at the 1988 Olympic Games: gold in the team and horizontal bar, and silver in the all-around and parallel bars.
  • 2005 all-around world champion Chellsie Memmel of West Allis, Wis., is coached by her father, Andy, a former All-American collegiate gymnast.
  • 2006 all-around world silver-medalist Jana Bieger of Coconut Creek, Fla., is coached by her mother, Andrea, a three-time Olympian for West Germany.
  • 2006 pommel horse world bronze-medalist Alexander Artemev of Morrison, Colo., is coached by his father, Vladimir, a former member of the Soviet national team and the USSR’s national all-around champion in 1984.
  • “USA Gymnastics:  Behind the Team” is a joint initiative of USA Gymnastics and AT&T.
 
Visitors to the AT&T blue room Team USA site can sign up to receive e-mail alerts when new “Behind the Team” episodes are launched. Visitors can also download a free, customizable USA Gymnastics Desktop Communicator. The Communicator includes an RSS news feed, alerts users to breaking gymnastics news, runs a countdown to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, displays weather information for selected ZIP codes and showcases special promotions and offers.
 
The AT&T blue room Team USA site gives sports fans intimate access to U.S. Olympic Team hopefuls across a range of sports.  AT&T is an official partner of USA Gymnastics.
 
Based in Indianapolis, USA Gymnastics is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. Its mission is to encourage participation and the pursuit of excellence in the sport. Its disciplines include men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, and acrobatic gymnastics.