Alicia Sacramone is competing again and is as good as ever, Shawn Johnson has been training for a few months and is showcasing some great skills, and now it seems their 2008 Olympic teammate, Nastia Liukin, may well make a comeback too.
Liukin, the 2008 Olympic all-around champion, told the AP that she's giving herself until Christmas to make a formal decision on whether she'll return to elite gymnastics. For now, she's back at WOGA training. Follow her on Twitter to get a few updates on her training. A recent one: "New skill, check. Three more rips on my wrist, check. Overall, a good Saturday morning training..."
I hope she can do it. The US could use a great bar worker, and if she does return, she has a chance to become the most decorated American gymnast ever. (Right now, Shannon Miller holds this title, with seven Olympic medals and nine world medals. Liukin has five Olympic medals and nine world medals.)
(Pictured above: Liukin in 2008; © Julian Finney / Getty Images)
Comments
Honestly, I kind of hope she doesn’t make a comeback. My favorites are Shawn and Alicia, and they have enough competition with the new and younger faces.
The US is in dire need of someone who can do bars. I love Sac, but she can’t do bars and never could. Shawn Johnson wasn’t exactly stellar on the event, either. If Nastia can get that one event back in form, she’d be very helpful. In terms of team USA, she’d really be needed, and I also happen to adore her gymnastics.
On the other hand, with all of the insane up & coming talent from Russia (Viktoria Komova just upgraded beam–there was video on youtube yesterday….and Aliya Mustafina has already upgraded since worlds too), I almost don’t want Nastia to come back. She won’t be able to defend her Olympic title with her complete lack of a competitive vault, and as long as He Kexin exists it’s not like she’ll ever win another bars title either. It would almost be depressing for her to work hard for a comeback and then just be a middle of the pack kinda girl…
Nastia’s potential bar routine will not be “middle of the pack”. He Kexin isn’t invincible either, as we saw this year with her falling in event finals. I think providing much needed help to the US team on bars and trying to win a Team Gold would be extremely rewarding for Nastia. I’m happy to hear she’s back training!
i think she could probably still be competative on beam also. and supose she does only pick up a few silver medals. i dont tnink that would be depressing if those silver medals made her the most decorated gymnast in us history.
I think she would fill a big hole in team USA’s roster on bars. I’ve heard she’s training a layout jaeger from el-grip so she’s definitely upgrading. I really want her to comeback and train for London. You never know what could happen.