Gymnast Nastya Lyukin: how the daughter of Soviet champions won the Olympics for the USA
'25.02.2021'
Source: Lenta.ru
About the Russian girl who brought the USA an Olympic victory and became a star overseas, says Lenta.ru.
American athlete Nastya Lyukin is rightfully considered the world star of artistic gymnastics. In 2005, she became a two-time world champion, conquering the judges with grace, beauty and sophisticated technique. And in 2008 in Beijing, she won the Olympic gold in the all-around and three silver in individual events. This triumph made the gymnast the favorite of millions of Americans who did not care that she was ... Russian.
Nastya is the daughter of Soviet athletes who moved to the States after the collapse of the Union. She has been to Moscow more than once, but she always considered Texas home. Lyukin now works on American television, participates in photo shoots for magazines and attends social events.
Typical American
In July 2008 in The Washington Post an article was published dedicated to Lyukin, one of the favorites of the Beijing Olympics.
“When she arrives at the National Indoor Stadium, she will take off her warm-up suit that says USA and compete in a red, white and blue swimsuit. Although Nastya's mother calls her a typical American child, ”begins author Barry Svrluga.
The journalist clearly disagrees with the latter - he recalls Sean Johnson, Lyukin's friend on command. She, another contender for gold awards in all types of programs, fits this description perfectly. Sean is "the daughter of Iowa and her parents are the children of Iowa." And what about Nastya? Her full name is Anastasia Valerievna Lyukina.
“A typical American child? Nastya enjoys trips to Moscow to her grandparents, where shopping, according to her, if more expensive, is definitely worth it, ”Svrluga continues. He emphasizes that there is very little American in Lukin - perhaps fluent English, which the girl mastered faster than her parents. As for gymnastic skills, they are completely atypical for the States, but this "Russianness" of Nastya is rather an advantage.
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“She can draw on the experience of another country in a way that none of the girls on the national team can. She received grace and infinite leg length from her mother, a Soviet gymnast, - this ensures the beauty of her program on the uneven bars, which, by the way, is also the most difficult in the world. And, of course, Nastya is aware of her father's achievements at the Seoul Olympics, where he helped the Soviet team to win, and also won the individual “gold” on the crossbar, ”writes Svrluga.
Then he tells the story of the Lyukins, who settled in the United States many years ago, and asks not to think about the origin of the athlete.
“What difference does it make where she comes from? The daughter of Soviet stars is playing for the USA, but she never dreamed of something else, ”he explains.
The journalist calls on the Americans to root for Nastya, because she can create a sensation at the Games.
“We have high hopes for Nastya. She is capable of great things ", - said Martha Carolay, USA team coordinator.
It happened a month later. Lyukin became the Olympic all-around champion - she won the most prestigious award in this sport. She became the first Russian American woman who succeeded.
Looking for a better life
Nastya was born in Moscow in 1989 in the family of a two-time Olympic champion in artistic gymnastics and a world champion in rhythmic gymnastics. Valery Lyukin and Anna Kochneva got married shortly before her birth. In 1992, after the collapse of the USSR, it was decided to leave the country in search of a better life. They have heard that somewhere overseas there are commercial sports schools and clubs where you can make good money. The choice fell on the United States, and the family with several thousand dollars in savings went to New Orleans.
Lyukin, the hero of the 1988 Olympics, really quickly found work at a children's sports school. The only difficulty was poor language skills, and also the fact that the Lukins settled in the French Quarter - a historical, but rather gloomy area, which made a bad impression on them.
“Are we going to raise a child here? I do not know how to do that. Is the whole country really like that? " Anna asked in despair.
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However, after a year and a half, the Lucins moved to Dallas (Texas), where they immediately liked it. By that time, Valery had accumulated the amount that was enough to open his own sports school. Together with a friend Evgeny Marchenko, a five-time world champion in sports acrobatics, he founded the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy, whose idea was to educate gymnasts and gymnasts of the highest level. Valery as a coach then already had serious authority, and among the Americans there were quickly those who wanted to send their children to his school. Anna also helped in training.
From Nastya (that's what she was called in elementary school), no one tried to raise a professional athlete - the Lyukins knew the difficulties of this path too well. True, it was not possible to completely protect the girl from sports - there was no one to leave her with when her parents were at work, and she spent all her childhood watching trainings and repeating tricks. So it naturally became clear that Nastya had talent. Anna tried to send her daughter to study the piano and other classes, but nothing fascinated her like gymnastics.
“She was always flexible and could do many exercises without a warm-up. Others did not succeed, ”Lyukin recalled.
“I didn't want to take off my swimsuit. I slept in it even at night. My parents tried to dress me up, but I threw tantrums. It was then that they realized that gymnastics would probably become a big part of my life, ”Nastya said.
The Lukins really stopped resisting and directed all their efforts to the development of the future champion. In 2000, the family was given US citizenship.
The new leader of the national team
In 2002, Nastya took part in the first major tournament - the US Junior Championship. The start turned out to be unsuccessful: a fall from the uneven bars threw her to 15th place. At the same time, on paper, Lyukin was one of the strongest juniors in the country, so she was nevertheless included in the national team. In the same year, Nastya met expectations: at the Pan American Games, she helped the team win, and also became the second in the all-around.
In 2003, Lyukin won the US Junior Championship, and in 2004 she repeated this achievement. She showed results on a par with adults, but still could not go to the Olympics in Athens. And only in 2005 Nastya took part in adult competitions for the first time and won two gold medals at the country's debut championship. So she got a ticket to the World Championship in Melbourne, where in the fight for victory in the all-around, she lost only one thousandth point to the more experienced compatriot Chelsea Memmel, and then bypassed her on the uneven bars and on the beam. Then no one doubted that Lyukin would eventually become the team leader.
This was confirmed in the next two seasons. There were new victories at the US and World Championships, the National Cup and the Pan American Senior Games. In 2007, however, Nastya was injured and out of action, but returned by the beginning of the Olympic season. Memmel, in the role of her main rival, was now replaced by Sean Johnson, but in fact Luukin was competing with herself. That is, pure performance in Beijing guaranteed her "gold".
Although Nastya made the fans nervous in the all-around qualification (she became the second, behind Johnson), in the final she won with a good advantage. In the individual standings she took "silver" on the balance beam and uneven bars, as well as "bronze" in floor exercises. By the way, Nastya always especially loved the first two types. In the team tournament, Lyukin helped the national team win silver, so that the 20-year-old gymnast took as many as five medals from Beijing. In an interview immediately after the victory, she admitted that she did not expect success, and added: “I went through a lot. And now I think that I will go to the next Games to win. "
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However, this was said, apparently, on emotions, and already in 2009, Lyukin announced her retirement. She tried to return after three seasons, but could no longer fight for a spot in the national team at the London Olympics. She went to the UK as a representative of athletes from the International Gymnastics Federation. And until now, Nastya comes to the competition only as an honored guest.
"Everyone says:" You are Russian, you must drink vodka! "
In the United States, Lyukin is considered her own, but she, of course, cannot avoid questions about Russia. In almost every interview, the athlete is asked about her attitude to her native country, asked to share her impressions of her trips to Moscow and tell about what Russian remains in it.
Before the 2014 Sochi Olympics, an interesting article appeared. “There are many stereotypes about Russians and Russian culture. And since the Games are being held in this distant country, we decided that we needed to study them better. Nastya Lyukin answers the questions, ”reads the beginning of the article. Then the journalists talk about popular topics such as the attitude of Russians to vodka. Here's what the gymnast said.
Do all Russians drink alcohol?
While I was growing up and training, I never drank. And now I hardly drink, only sometimes a glass of wine. But everyone says: "You are Russian, you must drink vodka!" No, I dont drink alcohol. Russians are not the first in the world to drink alcohol - this title belongs to the South Koreans. But the stereotype exists, I think, because the Russians make excellent vodka. However, this is not in my genes. And my parents don't drink vodka - wine sometimes.
How do Russians wish good luck?
Russians are very superstitious people. When someone wishes good luck, you need to answer in a certain way, otherwise they will not be lucky. You are told "ni pukha, ni pyera!" And you have to answer "k chyortu", which means "to hell."
Why aren't the Russians smiling?
It's funny, but throughout my gymnastics career, I hardly ever smiled, because I was always very focused. And everyone says: “Well, it's because you are Russian,” although I never thought about it. My father is a gymnastics coach and he has a Soviet mentality. You're training, you're competing, not trying to have a good time or socialize. It is not customary to smile in Russia, but that does not mean that there are bad people there.
"I really feel like an American."
Lyukin now works as a commentator NBC Sports, participates in photo shoots and attends social events such as Fashion Week. She also has her own line of gym equipment including mats and logs. In social networks, Nastya promotes ideas of a healthy lifestyle, gives advice on fitness and nutrition, and shares her experience in interior design. She is extremely popular - only in Instagram she has a million subscribers. It is fair to say that most of them are English speakers. In Russia, Lyukin does not have a crowd of fans.
When she has to meet Russian journalists, she gives interviews in her native language, but reluctantly, because she is afraid to make a mistake and disappoint the fans: “I feel that people will judge me:“ She was born in Russia. Why does she speak so badly? ”” At the same time, Nastya says that she is true to her roots, once a year she visits grandparents in Moscow and communicates with them on the phone almost every day.
The former gymnast often repeats that she admires the courage of her parents who made their dream come true.
“They packed up and left Russia, although they weren't sure if it would work. They are Russians, and I, in spite of everything, am Russian - I will never and never change that. At the same time, I really feel like an American, and I can't refuse that either. I am happy to be who I am: I am proud to be Russian and to play for the United States, ”the athlete concluded.
