Nastia Liukin won the All-Around gold medal at the Olympics
© FIG Photo

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind., Aug. 27, 2008 – 2008 Olympic all-around champion Nastia Liukin of Parker, Texas, is one of 10 women nominated for the Women’s Sports Foundation’s 2008 Sportswoman of the Year. Fans can vote for Liukin through midnight, Sept. 2, on the Women’s Sports Foundation’s Web site. The winner will be presented at the Annual Salute to Women in Sports Dinner on Oct. 14 at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York City.

Athletes were considered for their athletic achievements from Aug. 1, 2007, through Aug. 24, 2008. The other nine women who were nominated are: Mao Asada, figure skating; Veronica Campbell-Brown, track; Natalie Coughlin, swimming; Ashley Fiolek, motocross; Allison Fisher, billiards; Yelena Isinbayeva, pole vault; Lorena Ochoa, golf; Lindsey Vonn, downhill skiing; and Rebecca Ward, fencing. The Women’s Sports Foundation also has a team award.

At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Liukin won a total of five medals, including a team silver, the most by any female gymnast in 2008. This also ties the U.S. gymnastics record for most medals in one Olympics 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. In 2007, she helped the USA win the team gold medal at the 2007 World Championships, where she also won the balance beam title and was second on the uneven bars. Liukin has a total of nine world medals to her credit, which ties her with Miller for career world medals. Liukin is coached by her father, Valeri, who has four Olympic medals from 1988, including two gold. She trains at WOGA.