BEIJING — Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson collaborated to produce the greatest moment in American gymnastics history today.
Liukin claimed the gold medal in all-around and Johnson took the silver in a tense battle with China’s Yang Yilin, who took the bronze.
“Standing on that podium and hearing ‘Olympic champion’ next to my name was a dream come true,” Liukin said.
It was the first time the U.S. won two medals in all-around, and Liukin became the third American to win the women’s title. Johnson is the second to win silver.
Liukin kept the Olympic title in American hands four years after Carly Patterson won in Athens and eased the sting of the Wednesday’s team result, an event the U.S. expected to win but finished second.
Many considered Johnson the favorite. She is the reigning world champion and had the best all-around scores in Sunday’s qualification rounds.
“I’m proud of Nastia,” said Johnson, 16. “She deserves it. And I won the silver, which is the best feeling ever.”
Liukin’s achievement came 20 years to the day after her father and coach, Valeri Liukin, competed for the Soviet Union in the Seoul Olympics. And she clinched it with a clutch floor routine when she had to have it.
“I knew I just had to go out there and do a normal routine,” Liukin said. “My dad kept saying, ‘Don’t do anything better than you know how to do, don’t do anything worse, just try to do it normal.’ That’s really what I was concentrating on.”
While questions mount about whether China’s gymnasts were younger than the minimum legal age of 16, the 18-year-old Liukin performed with the coolness and grace that is her trademark, influenced by her Russian bloodlines. Her father was an artistic gymnast, her mother a rhythmic gymnast.
“She’s a tiger,” Valeri Liukin said.
Liukin emerged as one of the brightest prospects in American gymnastics three years ago when she won a silver medal in the all-around at the world championships, but a year later she suffered a serious ankle injury at the world championships that required surgery. The injury forced her into a game of catch-up last year.
She would watch another star emerge in Johnson, who won the all-around at last year’s world championships.
Healthy this year, Liukin served notice things might be different, beating Johnson in the first big meet of the year, the Tyson American Cup. Johnson prevailed at the U.S. championships and the Olympic Trials, but Liukin was right behind her.
Liukin had the best score today on balance beam (16.125) and was second on uneven bars (16.650), behind Yang (16.725). She and Johnson tied for the second-best score on floor exercises (15.525).
“I think this makes it a little sweeter, just knowing I’ve been through pretty big injuries and some doubters,” Liukin said. “Honestly, it just made me feel much stronger and it made me the person I am today. It’s definitely been a long journey, but every single moment has been worth it.”
John Meyer: 303-954-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com
Finish was one for the ages
Americans Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson earned the gold and silver medals in the women’s all-around gymnastics competition. Putting their feat in perspective:
• It was the third time a nation had a 1-2 finish in the event. The others were in 1960 (Larysa Latynina gold, Sofia Muratova silver for the Soviet Union) and 2000 (Simona Amanar gold, Maria Olaru silver for Romania).
• It was the first time the United States had two women’s gymnasts on the individual all-around medal podium.
• It was the first time the U.S. won consecutive gold medals in the event (Liukin in 2008, Carly Patterson in 2004).
• It was the third individual all-round gold medal won by the U.S. (Liukin, Patterson; and Mary Lou Retton in 1984).
• It was the second time the U.S. won a silver in the event (Shannon Miller, 1992).
U.S. Olympic Committee
