Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson, still friends after all these months

One of the "most viewed" stories today on LATimes.com is a two-month old piece about Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson (thank you, Google?).

Written by Diane Pucin, the little feature called "Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin have friendly rivalry" explained that the two gymnasts are the furthest things from infamous rival US skaters, Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding:

Last week when Johnson was forced out of her home gym because of flooding, Liukin text messaged her, expressing concern and wishing Johnson luck. Johnson sent her thanks and signed her text, "Love, Shawn."

"Shawn and Nastia are as different as can be," says teammate Alicia Sacramone, who was captain of last year's world gold medal-winning team. "They are different ages, they care about different stuff, their gymnastics is so different but ultimately they want the U.S. to do well. There's no way we'll have a Tonya-Nancy here."

Kim Zmeskal, who was an Olympic gymnast in 1992 and is a former world champion, has watched Johnson and Liukin practice every month under the watchful eyes of U.S. team coordinator Martha Karolyi at Karolyi's ranch near Houston.

"Of course the girls watch each other," Zmeskal said last month.

"You can see out of the corner of their eyes, every month when they first arrive. They want to see what the other one is doing now."

What they appeared to be watching was each other's moves -- quite closely.

When asked if she could import one of Liukin's qualities into her own gymnastics, Johnson had a quick answer. "I'd love to do her uneven bars. Her one-handed swings, wow."

Liukin has her favorite Johnson move too. "She's doing two and a half twists on her vault," Liukin said. "I'd like to have that."

After the jump, a video interview with gold medal winner Nastia Liukin...

-- Tony Pierce

Photo by Luis Gene/AFP/Getty Images

Comments

[Michael Ventura]

nastia was outstanding, i hope i can find her floor routine on youtube

[rileysmom]

According to the NBC interviewer, the gymnasts are only 2 years apart in age. Are you kidding me? The gold medalist needs some help. They look like mother and daughter. Phony birth certificates? No, but looks suspiciously like symptoms of an eating disorder. Just look at how much hair she has lost (check out the TALL ROUND forehead not the ponytail hair extensions) and tell me she has a good diet.

[Andy]

How much did you grow between 16 and 18? Just worry about Riley's diet, Mom.

[jordan smart]

nice going on the gold medal win. you looked great out their and all the best for the furture from your biggest fan all the way new zealand

[Julia]

Are you talking about Nastia Liukin, rileysmom? If so, just take a look at a picture of her mom, Anna. The same high forehead, the same blonde hair (no extensions here), and the same lanky body. Anna was a rhythmic gymnast in the Soviet Union, so in fact she was even thinner than Nastia as a teen. It's genetics, pure and simple.

And then take a look at Shawn Johnson's short, stocky parents and tell me that her growth is stunted. Her mom is basically as short as she is, and her dad is only a few inches taller than that.

[Ender]

Looks like she's on growth hormones or something, Nastia I mean. Unusually long legs and big hands...

[Pebbles]

I am SO MAD at Nastia Liukin right now!!!!!!!! Nothing can change that! I think Shawn Johnson was more grateful and I think she should've won! Plus, all the judges were going really hard on Shawn that wasn't fair. Also, Shawn, was doing better for the team than Nastia was, she always got good scores and Nastia was off and on! Good job to Shawn Johnson though! I love you!

[nonya]

I think that both of them are doing a great job and i hope they can go further!

[may]

wooooooooooo nastia rocks. I am so happy she won!!! i like the fact that she is so tall and skinny. it makes her gymnastics that much more beautiful

[VA]

Some of the comments here are ridiculous.

Congratulations to Nastia. Your true fans have followed you through thick and thin.

[Barry]

"Some of the comments here are ridiculous. "

------------------------------------------------------------

I'd have to echo that. Seems to be a lot of resentment, sniping and even conspiracy theories here - some of these people need help.

Both of the girls are very beautiful and talented and they both performed very well. They are just different that is all - Johnson emphasizing power and athleticism and Liukin emphasizing grace and form. On any given day, there could have been a different result but this time Liukin prevailed and she deserved to win.

[Shawn_is_the_best]

Shawn should have won the gold, if the judges were not that hard and unfair to her. Her execution was much better than Liukin. Don't tell me that Liukin is so elegant. Please check the rules and you would easily find out that judges were lenient to Liukin.

Here is just a list some execution errors that Liukin did:
1. Leg separation wider than shoulder. ( Pls refer to Liukin's performance on Floor and Uneven Bar) The deduction would be 0.3 point. But she didn't get any deduction. OMG, it's so ugly. Didn't see any other gymnasts doing this as badly as Liukin did.

2. Legs crossed during twist ( Pls refer to Liukin's performance on Floor and Uneven Bar)

So, if Shawn and other gymnasts got the deduction, Liukin should got it too. Unfortunately, she didn't get any. As long as she landed well, she would get perfect score no matter how badly she did in the air!!! How ironic!!!

So next time, when you try to make any comments on Liukin being better than Shawn, please be professional. Liukin won the gold only because of the ungrounded high scores from the judges, who are friends of her father!!!

[luv2shawnJohnson]

okay they both did well. no matter what your comments say its not going to change the results. and the judging is all messed up this year so they arent being nice to nastia b/c of her dad. i was rooting for shawn too but the olympics arent over yet. :D

[javier yohan]

i love shawn johnson PANAMA CITI

[cynthia]

hey nastia how does it feel winning a silver medal or gold?

[dsf]

some shawn johnson fans are sore of losers

[Debba Haupert]

Watching Nastia and Shawn on the Today Show this morning was amazing. Their friendship obviously has grown through this experience. It's a great lesson in supporting and encouraging others, even when the stakes are really high. Congrats to both of you on your accomplishments and your wonderful friendship.

Granted I believe friends are the real awards in life!

Debba / www.girlfriendology.com - the online community for girlfriends

[ashley]

I think what makes Shawn truly the best is her attitude. She and her parents and her coach all have such a wonderful relationship - rare in a high stakes sport like gymnastics. Also, what character she showed by getting the silver in the all-around. Nastia did a great job, but how would she have reacted if she had gotten the silver? What about her Dad? I doubt she would have had the class that Shawn had, she would have stomped her way out of the building, like most people that come in second in competitive sports. But not Shawn. There is a lesson for us all in this champion - do your best, but remember that your true legacy can never be determined by a ranking such as silver or gold, but by the imprint you leave on others who are touched by your character. I am kind of glad she got second, it provided us a rare glimpse at what it means to be a true champion.

[Ricardo]

Congratulations
It is the only thing I wish for this great athlete and proceed nomas has much future. Abaza and kisses for you Nasia.

Your faithful follower of Peru. Ricardo ..

[ash]

What's with the bitter Shawn fans? Nastia was better that day. There's really no way to dispute it.

[Kyle]

Seeing as the games are over, I don't know why I am posting, but ashley, seriously?
Did you see Nastia when she got BRONZE? She was just as gracious as Shawn. And I saw the look in Valeri's eyes. The look of a father who would be just as proud of his daughter even if she got no medal at all. And what sports do you watch where second placers storm off? Look at John Horton. By his reaction, you would swear that that silver was in fact a gold! You statements are completely unfounded, and it is rather pointless to be bitter, when both girls where truly awesome, and their friendship is so strong, despite being rivals. How can you be a true fan of either, or the Olympic games period, and not hold that spirit of sportsmanship that they themselves have displayed is abundance!

[lisamarie]

Ok, no offense, but shawn just doesn't have the grace and flexibility nastia does. They kept taking her values away for her leaps because her switch ring leaps don't even reach a full split! bravo for the international judges, the american judges are probably too stupid and let it slide just because its shawn. gymnastics isn't just about the skills, its the EXECUTION! I even found a photo of nastia's and shawn's ring leaps compared. shawn's is ugly, not a full split, while nastia's is an oversplit. a WAY over split. Much more beautiful.

[Madee Hornsey]

They both did amazing jobs. I completely agree with the fact that some of the comments here are ridiculous and biased.
Ender, Nastia gets those legs from her mom. Go to YouTube and watch Anna Kotchneva 1987 Rhythmic Worlds. You'll see what I mean. Rileysmom, too. When Anna was Nastia's age, she looked exactly the same!
And Shawn's 6 inches shorter than Nastia because Nastia's mom is 5'7 and her dad is 5'4. Shawn's parents are almost as short as she is.
Congratulations, Nastia and Shawn!

[sarah]

I love them both all yall are crazy you should be happy for both of them they both WENT TO THE OLYMPICS and were AMAZING !!!!!!!!!!!! Nastia is way more graceful than Shawn... but Shawn is WAY more powerful than Nastia so they both have their advantages. I thought they both did great!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CONGRATS To NASTIA &&& SHAWN!!!!!!!!!!!! I ♥♥ YALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!