What is Nastia Liukin's Net Worth?
Nastia Liukin is a retired Russian-American artistic gymnast who has a net worth of $3 million. Nastia Liukin is best known for winning five medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, tying the record set by Mary Lou Retton and Shannon Miller. She won gold in the all-around event. She also won four all-around US national titles, and was the world champion on the uneven bars and balance beam. After failing to make the Olympic team in 2012, Liukin retired from gymnastics.
Early Life and Education
Nastia Liukin was born as Anastasia Liukin on October 30, 1989 in Moscow in what was then the Russian SFSR of the Soviet Union. Her parents are Valeri Liukin, who won two golds in gymnastics at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, and Anna Kotchneva, who won gold in the individual clubs event at the 1987 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the family moved to the US, first to Louisiana and then to Texas. There, Liukin's mother opened the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy with fellow former Soviet champion athlete Yevgeny Marchenko. As a teenager, Liukin went to Spring Creek Academy, graduating in 2007. She went on to attend Southern Methodist University for a while before her professional schedule got in the way. Eventually, Liukin finished her higher education at New York University, from which she graduated in 2016.
Junior Career
Interested in gymnastics from a very young age, Liukin began competing as a junior in the early 2000s. At the age of 12, she participated in her first National Championships, where she came in 15th place. Liukin fared better at the subsequent Junior Pan American Games, winning a gold medal with the US national team and placing second on the uneven bars and balance beam. By 2003, she was among the best junior gymnasts in the country. That year, Liukin won the junior division of the US National Championships and claimed gold on the uneven bars, balance beam, and floor, all achievements she would repeat the next year. Meanwhile, at the Pan American Games, she once again won a gold medal with the US national team, and also took gold on the balance beam. Liukin came second in the all-around event and third on the uneven bars and floor. In her final year as a junior in 2004, she won the all-around event at the Pacific Rim Championships.
Senior Career, 2005-2007
Liukin began her senior career in 2005 with a bang, winning her first senior National Championships as well as gold medals on the uneven bars and balance beam. Further, she claimed gold on the uneven bars and balance beam at the World Championships, where she also placed second in the all-around and on floor. Liukin continued her success in 2006 with multiple medals, including gold in the all-around at the American Cup; golds in the team event and on the uneven bars at the Pacific Rim Championships; and silvers in the team event and on uneven bars at the World Championships. Moreover, for the second consecutive year, Liukin won the National Championships all-around, uneven bars, and balance beam events.
An ankle injury and resulting surgery kept Liukin out of play for much of 2007. She returned for the Pan American Games, where she helped her team win gold while winning individual silvers on bars and beam. Next, at the National Championships, Liukin won her third-consecutive senior bars title and came in second on beam and third in the all-around. She went on to improve her performance at the World Championships, where she claimed golds in the team event and on beam, and a silver on bars.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Image
2008 Successes
Liukin had arguably her greatest professional year in 2008. First, she claimed gold at the American Cup by defeating reigning champion Shawn Johnson. Next, Liukin won four medals at the Pacific Rim Championships: golds in the all-around, team event, and on beam, and a silver on bars. She moved on to the National Championships, where she came second in the all-around and first on bars and beam. The apogee of Liukin's incredible year was the Summer Olympics in Beijing, where she won five medals, including gold in the all-around. Her other medals were silvers on bars and beam and in the team event, and bronze on floor.
Final Years of Senior Career, 2009-2012
For her first post-Olympics competitive gymnastics appearance, Liukin participated in the CoverGirl Classic on balance beam only. Ultimately, she came in second. At the National Championships, she again chose only to compete on beam, and came in fourth. Liukin was set to compete at the World Championships, but pulled out due to feeling she wasn't up to snuff. She took some time off after that to condition and train. Returning to competitive gymnastics in 2012, Liukin competed on beam and bars at the Visa Championships, where she struggled. She ultimately decided to retire from the sport after falling from the bars at the 2012 Olympic Trials.
Other Media Appearances
Liukin has made a number of appearances in the media outside of her gymnastics career. She appeared on the shows "Gossip Girl" and "Hellcats" and had a cameo in the film "Stick It." Liukin also twice competed on the dance competition television show "Dancing with the Stars," first in season 20 and then in season 27. Among her other work in the media, she serves as an analyst for NBC Sports during coverage of gymnastics events.
Business Endeavors
In 2010, Liukin launched the Nastia Liukin Cup, an annual gymnastics competition for Level 10 gymnasts. Net proceeds from the event go to the Nastia Liukin Fund, which works to build partnerships with youth fitness programs.
In other business endeavors, Liukin started her own line of gymnastics equipment in 2017; it includes everything from mats to balance beams. She also launched a girls' wear line called Supergirl by Nastia.
Personal Life
Previously, Liukin was engaged for three years to former hockey player Matt Lombardi. The pair split in 2018. After that, Liukin dated NFL player Sam Martin.
