WASHINGTON, October 30 (RIA Novosti) – Nastia Liukin, a US Olympic gold medal gymnast and the daughter of two former Soviet gymnastics champions, will report for US television network NBC during its Olympic coverage of the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, NBC announced Wednesday.
“Nastia is a decorated Olympic champion who brings a unique perspective to Russia’s first Winter Olympics, both as an athlete and a member of a family with a tremendous sports legacy dating back to the former Soviet Union,” said Jim Bell, Executive Producer of NBC Olympics, in a press release.
Liukin, 24, was born in Moscow in 1989 to Valeri and Anna Liukin. The year before she was born, her father won four gymnastics medals for the Soviet Union at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Her mother, a rhythmic gymnast, won a world title in 1987.
The family moved to the US two years after Nastia was born, and she began practicing gymnastics in her parents’ gym a short time later. She won five medals at the 2008 Beijing Games, including the gold in the all-around.
“As both a US Olympic Gold Medalist and as a dual US-Russian citizen whose family has an Olympic legacy in Russia, the Sochi Games will be particularly meaningful to me,” Liukin said in a statement to RIA Novosti.
She added she is “honored and excited” to bring her unique background to Russia’s first winter Olympics.
Liukin will serve as a reporter for NBC’s Olympic coverage and will present daily features for The Olympic Zone, a daily show for NBC affiliates covering all aspects of the Games.
