Before next week’s first round of selection camps kick off in Texas, one big name in gymnastics has already removed herself from the World team mix.
Olympic Champion Nastia Liukin announced today that she has withdrawn from 2009 World Team consideration and is taking a break from training, though she emphasizes this is not a retirement.
“Absolutely not even a question,” Liukin told Inside exclusively of her commitment to not only stay in sport, but return to competition. “I’ll be back for sure.”
It’s still unknown when that return will happen—“I’m not setting a date for myself right now,” Liukin said of when she plans to resume training—so, for now, the only certainty is that the Olympic Champ won’t be competing in London this October.
"I know it’s probably a shock to some, but [I’ve been] thinking about this for quite a while now,” Liukin explained today in a media conference call. “Just because of all the obligations I had and the travel I’ve done—time was running out. I knew I didn’t want to go out there and represent Team USA unless I was at my best. The best for me is to be able to compete for a gold medal and, at this point, I’m physically not capable of doing that.”
The decision to withdraw her name from the selection process was one that Liukin agonized over, finally coming to a conclusion over the weekend. After a heart-to-heart with her parents, Liukin passed the news along to USA Gymnastics.
The most difficult call to make was to National Team Coordinator Martha Karolyi, and not only because Karolyi is currently vacationing with husband Bela in Romania.
“Martha was definitely the hardest call I made, probably, in my life,” Liukin shared. “I honestly didn’t even know how to start. I spent about two days tracking down her [phone] number, all the way in Romania, and I talked to Bela first [because] Martha was doing her daily walk when I called. I think [Bela] was worried when we hung up because Martha called me back, like, five minutes later. She started asking how gym was going and I had to say, ‘Well, that’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about.’ I could tell it was a little hard for her to take … [but] we had a nice long conversation.
“She’s been by my side my whole entire career and has always supported—and continues to support me—in whatever I do,” added Liukin of Karolyi. “She, of course, tried to convince me to give it one more shot, but [my parents and I] made the decision that it would be best, not just for me, but for the rest of the team.”
“It hasn’t been easy,” an emotional Liukin concluded, “but, at the same time, I know this is the right decision for me at this time. I don’t want to go out there and perform if I’m not 100 percent. I’ve set my standards too high. I don’t want to compete just for the experience. I feel that anyone else on the National Team could benefit more than me from that experience.”
“I think this young lady is looking out for the best interest of her team,” insisted USA Gymnastics president Steve Penny, “and it only speaks to the true champion that she is.
“The bar is different for her than just about any other athlete in the sport,” Penny added. “We understand why she’s making the decision when she is and this allows Martha, and the other [Selection Committee] members, to develop one strategy for our [World] team selection.”

Liukin announced she still plans to attend both September selection camps to support her teammates—“I love them so much and want to do anything I can to help them,” she noted—but also hopes to use this newfound free time to focus on her upcoming Liukin Cup and gymnastics charitable efforts, as well as fulfill some outstanding sponsor obligations and, hopefully, squeeze in a vacation before resuming full-time training.
“I hope to go on vacation, hopefully to an island, some place tropical,” said Liukin wistfully. “But, just looking at my calendar now, it’s booking like crazy, just in the last few days, which is exciting, but I definitely know I’ll have to plan a vacation in there somewhere, somehow. But I’ve been putting so many things off to train—now that I’ve decided to put that on hold, I’ve got other obligations.”
It was Liukin’s jam-packed schedule since winning the Games that, in the end, made Worlds this year an impossibility. With her time in constant demand after Beijing, Liukin went on tour with her teammates and traveled non-stop until mid-March of this year, when she returned to the gym seriously and quickly found trying to balance training and continued travel a frustrating experience for all involved.
“I would leave for three or four days and have to come back and start all over,” Liukin said of her slow progress. “That was frustrating. … I was [spread too thin.] I thought I would be able to balance everything out but (trails off)… I gave it all I had, and I gave it my best, but time is just coming too fast and the traveling didn’t stop soon enough, I guess.
“I’ve been training all the way up to this past weekend, full-time,” added Liukin of her exhausting schedule. “I will be taking a little bit of time off and, as soon as I feel ready to come back, I’ll be back in the gym. … I really feel like it is necessary, just because I haven’t really had that much time off since, well, ever. I wasn’t always in the gym, but I was always on the go. Now, I need to regroup and get ready for the next thing.”
Despite her fatigue, and disappointment, Liukin is adamant that her ultimate goals haven’t changed. She’s still hoping to represent the U.S. in international competition as soon as 2010, and beyond.
“This is by no means a retirement or the end of my career,” she stated emphatically, repeating that fact more than once during her 30-minute chat with the media. “I’m just taking some time off to rest my mind and take that break that I haven’t had since the Olympic Games. In terms of 2012, I definitely want to continue training and keep that in the back of my mind. But I definitely want to take a break right now and focus on some other things.
“This decision has nothing to do with the rest of my career,” Liukin reiterated. “It is based on just this year, just these World Championships. I really want people to understand that. I just didn’t have time to prepare. There are still World Championships in 2010, 2011 and I will try and do that. That is a still a very possible goal to achieve and, of course, with 2012 only three years away, that’s still on my mind.”
And, while she won’t be competing, Liukin hasn’t ruled out being on hand in the stands for the London Worlds. “I would love to go and support my team and, who knows, maybe do some commentating,” she said. “I won’t be there to represent Team USA, like I hoped, but my heart is still in the sport and forever will be.
“I guess I’m the kind of person who likes to please people,” Liukin concluded a bit sadly, “so I hope I’m not letting too many people down."

It seems that this blog is always about Nastia. That's because USA Gymnastics (and really the FIG) revolves around Nastia. The National Championships were held in her town and one of her sponsors was the title sponsor of the US Classic. She competed in both and seemed excited about returning to the sport.

It isn't surprising that she withdrew her name from the World Team selection. It was a classy thing to do, because they probably would've named her to the team no matter what. It is somewhat surprising that she announced that she is taking time off from training.