Women gymnasts restore U.S. glitter

BEIJING — Nastia Liukin's twists and turns had the grace of a ballet dancer. Every flip was carefully choreographed and repeatedly rehearsed to get the most out of her lean body.

This is how Liukin put her stamp on the Olympics and her sport.

The Russian-born American gymnast won her fifth Olympic medal Tuesday. She earned a silver on balance beam behind teammate Shawn Johnson, 16, who won her first gold medal of these Games.

The 5-foot-3 Liukin, 18, won one gold medal here, the one that counts most for gymnasts — the all-around title — against the favored Johnson. Liukin's silver on beam, silver on uneven bars by way of a razor-thin defeat, and a surprising bronze-medal performance in floor exercise in the last three days captivated audiences at the National Indoor Stadium.

The 1-2 punch she and Johnson, 4-foot-9, delivered throughout these Games makes a case for this U.S. women's gymnastics team to go down as the best ever.

"I'd have to say that's a true statement," said NBC analyst Elfie Schlegel, a former gymnast for Canada who is covering her seventh Summer Olympics.

The U.S. didn't win team gold as the Magnificent Seven did in Atlanta 12 years ago, instead earning silver against host China. Yet overall this team won eight medals, tying the 1984 team silver-medal winners. The 1996 team won four.

"When I think about this team, I immediately think about Nastia and Shawn," Schlegel said. "What Nastia Liukin did, she epitomized the sport as it should be — women's artistic gymnastics."

Liukin has secured a legacy at least alongside the sport's most famous American gymnasts — Mary Lou Retton and Shannon Miller. Liukin tied them for most medals by an American gymnast.

Liukin's place in history could reach well beyond theirs, however, on an international scale. She has distinguished herself as a supreme artist and gymnast, rare in a sport that over the years has become more dependent on dynamic tumbling than refined execution.

"Nastia is in a class of her own," Schlegel said. "That beauty, that combination of what she has is so special. I think there are going to be a greater number of people, especially in Europe, that will remember Nastia Liukin as a great Olympic champion.

"A lot of the European judges kind of looked at her and said, 'Ah, OK, I remember when."'

Liukin is a throwback to a time when Olympic champions incorporated almost as much dance as acrobatics. Her achievements put a spotlight on the beauty of her sport, rather than the confusing new scoring system that eliminated the perfect 10. She also cast aside, at least briefly, an ugly controversy that threatens to mar gymnastics.