Who Is Nastia Liukin? Get To Know The Gymnast-Turned-Olympics Announcer
All eyes are on former Olympian Nastia Liukin at the 2020 Tokyo Games. The gold medalist and Tokyo announcer isn’t competing with Team USA, though. She has been going viral for her bright, bold outfits this summer. But just what is a decorated gymnast doing at the Olympics, anyway?
Turns out, Nastia has been commentating at the Games for years, as well as appearing on TV shows, running a gymnastics competition, and working on a handful of other side projects, too. Here’s everything to know about Nastia, from her record-breaking gymnastics career to the meaning behind some of her best Tokyo fits so far:
Now, Nastia is an NBC Olympics analyst.
Currently, Nastia is giving fans all the inside gymnastics scoop as an NBC Olympics commentator in Tokyo. Whether you’ve already watched Simone Biles and the rest of Team USA at Tokyo or you’re just catching up, you may have already noticed her up in the booth.
“I think it’s really important to stay within the industry that you love,” Nastia said. “There are times where athletes turn their backs on their sport. What I have realized was that you have to stay loyal to your world and your fanbase—your first fanbase.”
She also takes pride in making gymnastics more relatable to viewers at home. “There’s nothing like an Olympic Game,” Nastia told People. She mentioned that she loves “being able to help tell the athletes’ stories and share things with our audience and the viewers that hopefully help them understand the sport a little bit better.”
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And, she’s wowing fans with her lewks.
This Olympics, Nastia isn’t just impressing viewers with her gymnastics knowledge. Fans can’t get enough of her over-the-top Tokyo fashion, like this monochromatic orange moment:
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Nastia’s former teammate, Shawn Johnson, was so here for it: “Favorite so far 🔥!!!! KEEP EM COMING HOTTIE,” she commented. There was also a stunning dress and sneakers combo:
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“I love your outfits! 😍💓,” one fan commented. This purple pants ensemble was also a huge hit, with an unexpected meaning behind it:
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And Nastia just unpacked the outfit’s significance. When a fan asked if she wore purple to honor former NBA player Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gigi, the gymnast posted the full explanation on her Instagram Story.
“Yes, it was… 🕊💜,” she wrote. “I met Kobe for the first time when we were both on the USA Olympic Team Team in Beijing at the 2008 Olympics. He later became one of my biggest mentors and a big reason I believed and continue to believe in myself/career,” she continued.
“He always told me and taught me that we will ALWAYS be bigger than our biggest accomplishments and will never be defined by those moments. With it being the first Olympic Games without KB and GiGi, I wanted to honor both of them.”
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She’s a former Olympic gymnast and gold medalist.
Nastia dominated at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, winning five medals total (one gold, three silver, and one bronze). She’s tied with only two other U.S. women to ever win that many medals at one Games—Mary Lou Retton in 1984 and Shannon Miller in 1992. Later, Nastia went on to be inducted into the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame, per USA Today.
Nastia’s parents were also gymnastics powerhouses: Her father won two gold medals at the 1988 Games for the Soviet Union, and her mother was a rhythmic gymnastics champion, per Team USA. But after her own successes, Nastia wasn’t sure what was next.
“When you achieve your lifelong dream at 18—don’t get me wrong, it’s amazing—but like, now what?” she told Bloomberg. “Where do I go from here? I have the rest of my life to live. It was scary. I was lost.”
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She’s also competed on Dancing With the Stars and American Ninja Warrior.
Thankfully, Nastia landed on her feet. Her fame skyrocketed overnight, and she pivoted to reality TV with Dancing With the Stars and American Ninja Warrior as a contestant. Naturally, competing came easily for her—she finished fourth on her DWTS season and had no problems acing the Ninja Warrior obstacle course.
You can catch her impressive run here.
Nastia was oh so graceful in the ballroom, too. “I think inside each of us there is a performer, and that’s what I loved most about DWTS: You can go out there and just perform,” she said.
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Nastia has her own gymnastics competition named after her.
Nastia is also the proud host of the Nastia Liukin Cup, an elite gymnastics competition. “Never, in a million years, did I think almost 10 years out from my Olympics I’d be sitting here, looking at the screen and seeing my silhouette and name everywhere,” she said at a recent competition.
The Cup was born when Nastia thought, “‘I want to do something to give back to the gymnastics community, to everybody that has given me so much,'” she said. Since its first year, the competition has helped gymnasts like Gabby Douglas grow into Olympians.
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She is a dog mom and has the cutest pup.
Harley is the inspiration behind Nastia’s next project, Harley & Me, a dog brand she’s developing, per Bloomberg. Here he is, chilling in Nastia’s trunk before she left for Tokyo:
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Adorable. You can catch Nastia commentating all Olympics long (mostly at the Team USA gymnastics events) on NBC, Peacock, or NBCOlympics.com.
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