‘I couldn’t go anywhere without getting mobbed’: Gabby Douglas and Nastia Liukin recall joining Olympic gymnastics royalty
Athens, Beijing, London, Rio and Tokyo.
Athens, Beijing, London, Rio and Tokyo.
For five straight Olympic Games, American women have topped the all-around podium in gymnastics, cementing their names in the sport’s most exclusive club.
In the 20 years since the U.S. women’s gold-medal streak in the Olympic all-around began, the sport and the lives of those who reach its loftiest heights have evolved significantly.
Nastia Liukin was 10 months too young to compete in the 2004 Olympics, but watching her 16-year-old training mate, Carly Patterson, win the Olympic all-around gold medal in Athens brought her once hazy and “unobtainable” goals into sharp focus.
“I think when you’re surrounded by greatness, it brings out even more greatness,” Liukin said. “You want to work harder, you want to be better, you want to step up to that role and that plate and carry on that legacy that you know your previous teammates have done, then set the bar high for the next generation to come.”
Rating: 5