Boston, Worcester gets visit from Liukin

2008 Olympic all-around champion Nastia Liukin of Parker, Texas, visited both the Boston and Worcester areas this week to help promote the 2010 Tyson American Cup, scheduled for March 6 at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass., and the 2010 Nastia Liukin Supergirl Cup, which will be held at the DCU Center on March 5.

On Tuesday, Jan. 19, Liukin and Warner Bros. Consumer Products announced that the Supergirl brand, based on the DC Comics’ character, will be the title sponsor of the 2010 Nastia Liukin Supergirl Cup. Liukin then signed autographs and met with aspiring gymnasts at several gym clubs, including Head Over Heels in Norwell, Mass.; New England Sports Academy in Westwood, Mass.; and Elite Gymnastics in Ashland, Mass. On Wednesday, January 20, she visited several media outlets, spoke to Oak Middle School in Shrewsbury, Mass., and joined young gymnasts and fans at a gymnastics demonstration at the Infinity Pool Court at the Natick Collection in Natick, Mass. Click the video below to see Nastia’s interview on Boston’s Fox25.

Liukin, a two-time former champion of the Tyson American Cup, won gymnastics’ most coveted prize, the Olympic all-around gold medal, at the 2008 Olympic Games. Liukin has a total of nine world and five Olympic medals to her credit.

The Tyson American Cup, one of the most prestigious all-around international invitationals, features some of the world’s top gymnasts in an all-around format. The U.S. athletes who have already accepted invitations to compete are 2009 world all-around silver-medalist Rebecca Bross of Plano, Texas; 2009 U.S. all-around silver-medalist Tim McNeill of Falls Church, Va.; and Horton. The remaining U.S. woman and the international field will be announced in the near future. On sale now, ticket prices range from $35-125. Tickets may be purchased by phone at 800-745-3000; online at www.ticketmaster.com; at all Ticketmaster outlets; through participating gym clubs; or at the DCU Center Ticket Office. Visa is the preferred method of payment. For more information, go to TysonAmericanCup.com.

The Nastia Liukin Supergirl Cup, held the evening before the Tyson American Cup, is an all-around competition for 36 of the country’s rising female gymnasts. The field will be chosen from the 15 invitationals that are part of the Nastia Liukin Cup Series. Each invitational will select a minimum of two athletes from their respective fields to compete in the Cup. The Nastia Liukin Supergirl Cup is a joint effort of Liukin and USA Gymnastics. Proceeds from the event benefit the Nastia Liukin Fund, a charitable fund within the National Gymnastics Foundation. Tickets for the Nastia Liukin Cup are also currently on sale. For more information, go to NastiaLiukinSupergirlCup.com.

About Nastia Liukin
At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Liukin’s total of five medals tied the U.S. gymnastics record for most medals in one Olympic Games, currently held by Mary Lou Retton (1984) and Shannon Miller (1992). Liukin’s medals are: gold – all-around; silver – team, balance beam and uneven bars; and bronze – floor exercise. Liukin is just the third U.S. woman to win the Olympic all-around crown. Earlier in 2008, Liukin won the all-around title at both the Tyson American Cup and the Pacific Rim Championships presented by Gillette Venus. Liukin has nine world medals to her credit: She was named the USOC’s Co-Sportswoman of the Year, the Women’s Sports Foundation’s 2008 Individual Sportswoman of the Year and the United States Sports Academy Female Athlete of the Year. Liukin and her teammates on the 2007 U.S. Women’s World Championships Team were selected as the 2007 U.S. Olympic Committee’s Team of the Year. She was also chosen as one of 2009’s most influential women by MSN Lifestyle. Liukin is still competing and is coached by her father, Valeri, who has four Olympic medals from 1988, including two gold. She trains at WOGA.