Nastia Liukin helps bring world-class gymnastics to her home area

There isn’t much in the world of gymnastics Nastia Liukin hasn’t experienced or conquered.

The five-time Olympic medal winner in the 2008 Beijing Games has reached the pinnacle of her sport and is tied with Shannon Miller and Mary Lou Retton for most medals by an American gymnast in a single non-boycotted Olympic Games.

She also has a major national competition — the Nastia Liukin Cup — named after her. It is entering its sixth year this March.

So what would still make the elite gymnast nervous?

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AT&T Stadium will host the Nastia Liukin Cup and the AT&T American Cup on March 6-7, and the thought of competing in one of the premier football stadiums in the world gives Liukin a few butterflies.

“I’ve never competed in a football stadium,” said Liukin, who grew up in the Plano area. “I know when I walked in there for the first time, I was thinking I would be so much more nervous. It’s such an amazing opportunity and experience.”

The American Cup is one of the top international invitational competitions. It features an all-around format and will bring some of the top names in gymnastics to North Texas.

Two male gymnasts — Sam Mikulak and Donnell Whittenburg — and two female gymnasts — Simone Biles, a Texas native, and Mykayla Skinner — will represent the U.S. in the Cup.

“This is the start of the road to Rio,” Liukin said, referencing the 2016 Summer Olympics. “I think that is really exciting for people because they are going to be able to watch them live and, in just a few years, watch them on the TV competing for an Olympic gold medal. It’s really special, not only for the whole Dallas community, but it’s really special for me, growing up in Texas.”

Even more exciting for Liukin is the chance to bring the competition that bears her name to her hometown area the night before the American Cup.

The Nastia Liukin Cup features the country’s top Junior Olympic female gymnasts. The participating gymnasts qualify by finishing in the top two spots in 25 of the country’s top invitationals in January and February.

“I can’t get used to it,” Liukin said about having a competition that bears her name. “It’s very surreal. I know going into AT&T Stadium and seeing my name on that huge screen that AT&T Stadium is known for is going to be very surreal.”

Having retired in 2012, Liukin won’t be participating, but she will have an active role in the TV broadcast booth, doing commentary for NBC.

Beyond honing her TV skills, Liukin, 25, is a junior studying sports management at New York University, which is one of the few goals she’s still working to achieve.

She spent the weekend traveling around North Texas, visiting local gyms and passing down words of wisdom and a little of her passion for the sport.

“Just seeing the big smiles on the little girls’ faces just brings me back,” Liukin said. “I used to be one of those little girls, looking up to my gymnastics idols, and here I am today with Olympic medals and my own gymnastics competition. It’s very surreal.”

This story was originally published February 14, 2015 at 8:50 PM with the headline "Nastia Liukin helps bring world-class gymnastics to her home area."