“I missed the whole entire warm-up. We came in right as they were marching to their first event,” she said.

Arriving late for her first competition didn’t affect the then 6-year-old much, and Liukin hasn’t looked back since, she said.

Born to successful gymnasts, Liukin became involved in the sport as a young child. Her father competed for the Soviet Union and won two gold medals and two silver medals at the 1988 Olympic Games. Her mother, also competing for the Soviet Union, won the 1987 World Championship in rhythmic gymnastics.

Liukin’s parent’s accomplishments don’t overshadow her own, though. A two-time World Champion herself, Liukin hopes to accomplish the same feat as her father—to become an Olympian by competing in the 2008 Olympic Games.

“I really, really respect them a lot for working so hard and being such great athletes and achieving so much,” Liukin said. “For me to even dream about being comparable to my dad—I feel really motivated myself.”

Nastia’s two World Championship medals came in Melbourne in 2005, where she won the uneven bars and the U.S. team won a team gold medal.

“I feel like all the hard work has paid off when I hear that, when people announce my name with two-time World Champion next to it,” Liukin said. “It really makes me feel like all these years that I’ve worked hard, it finally did pay off. Hopefully it will pay off again in these next few years coming up.”

Liukin said Australia is her favorite place to visit for competition, and it isn’t just because of her success in the country. Australia is where Liukin’s parents met, traveling on a 40-day gymnastics tour, she said.

“I think it was just really neat that we all got to go (to Australia) again,” Liukin said. “That was their first time back since they met, so it was a cool thing for our family.”

Qualifying for the 2007 Pan-American Games and the 2008 Olympic Games would also be a cool thing for her family—especially since her father is her coach.

“I don’t think I would really be able to be coached by anyone else, and I would definitely not be where I am today if I were coached by anyone else, just because he knows me the best,” Liukin said. “He knows exactly what I need to do. He went all the way to the top. He knows what it takes.”

Knowing what it takes is only half the battle. It’s up to her to provide the hard work required to be successful, she said.

“Always set goals for yourself and work towards them, because if you don’t set goals for yourself, you don’t really know what you are working towards,” Liukin said. “Just never give up, especially on those days that are hard and you don’t feel like waking up early and going to a gym. Those days that you are tired, they will make you feel stronger. You have to work hard to accomplish your goals.”