Nastia Liukin, Photo A A(C) Steve Lange
© Steve Lange

Top Gymnastics Equipment Company Will Launch First Signature Product Line Jointly Designed By Liukin

JEFFERSON, IA – Two-time world champion gymnast and top American Olympic hopeful, Nastia Liukin has partnered with American Athletic, Inc. (AAI) to endorse AAI’s core gymnastics products and will include AAI’s first signature line of equipment jointly designed with Liukin. The signature product line Nastia Liukin by AAI will include a Foam Balance Beam, Junior Balance Beam, 4 x 8 Folding Mat, Hand Stand Bar and Cartwheel/Beam Mat and will feature Liukin’s signature color pink with her autograph and logo on each product.

“We are proud to partner with Nastia and her family,” said Tara Meier, AAI’s director of marketing. “AAI has a long heritage of making equipment with the intensity of the sport and power of the athletes in mind. Nastia personifies that intensity and has extraordinary poise and grace. She is a tremendous asset to the AAI team.”

For over 50 years, champions and beginners alike worldwide have relied on AAI for all their apparatus, training, matting, and motor development needs. AAI is the official equipment supplier and partner to USA Gymnastics.

“AAI is the best manufacturer of products for aspiring gymnasts through Olympic champions. When I was presented with the opportunity to develop a line of fitness and training products for young gymnasts, I jumped at it,” said Liukin. “I have always wanted to extend my dedication to working with young athletes beyond just clinics and camps. I hope parents recognize the tremendous health benefits for their children in working with my products and being a gymnast in general.”

Valeri Liukin, Nastia’s coach, father and owner of WOGA, also endorses AAI equipment and will lend his expertise to the partnership by evaluating new AAI products. “AAI has been such a mainstay in the sport of gymnastics. By combining that longevity with Nastia’s position and our mutual ties to USA Gymnastics, it’s a winning partnership,” said Valeri Liukin. “Our goal is to help bring attention to the gymnastics community and increase participation in the sport.”

The Nastia Liukin by AAI product line will be available beginning July 2007.

About American Athletic, Inc.

Since 1954, American Athletic, Inc. has been manufacturing world-class gymnastics equipment. Headquartered in Jefferson, Iowa, the company operates three facilities totaling over 240,000 square feet and employees 145 people. AAI is the official supplier and partner to the USA Gymnastics and is proud to partner with the Federation Internationale De Gymnastique (FIG) and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). For more information on AAI, please call (800) 247-3978 or visit www.americanathletic.com.
 
About Nastia Liukin
Nastia Liukin is a Senior International Elite gymnast. She is a two-time World Champion, six time World medalist, four time US National Champion and has won both a Pacific Alliance and American Cup title. In 2005 she was also named the Gymnast of the Year by the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame and was a nominee in both the World Top 10 Athletes Award and the US Sport’s Academy Athlete of the Year Award. For more information on Nastia Liukin, please visit www.nastialiukin.com.

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Contacts
American Athletic, Inc.: Tara Meier / (800) 247-3978 / [email protected]
Premier Management Group: Evan Morgenstein / (919) 363-5105 / [email protected]