Parker gymnast Liukin focused despite hype (Dallas Morning News) FRISCO - Don't be fooled by Nastia Liukin's recent schedule. Sure, there was the Glamour photo shoot Friday - picture Liukin, a former two-time national champion gymnast, modeling a high-fashion Miu Miu dress on the uneven bars. Publish Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2008 02:47:17 GMT Read more...

Training hard. 6 months to Beijing Olympics. The Tyson American Cup in March will be exciting! :D At 2007 Worlds Shawn Johnson won medals Nastia won previously, but Nastia was getting over her ankle injury - it was a good comeback from that, and quick to compete at Nationals and Worlds. At the American Cup it will show where everyone is in their training for the Olympics. [quote]"It's so unbelievable," Liukin said. "We've been working 15 years, and there's six months left. It's very exciting, and it motivates you. Personally, it just makes me want to give it my all. "Every single training counts. You can't just go in there and not give it your all one day. It's going to catch up to you." [/quote] Less outside pressure maybe: [quote]Liukin said she's grateful for the monthly team camps at the U.S. training center in New Waverly, Texas. She can monitor exactly where her competition

Pressure pressure pressure. Looks like everyone likes to share the spotlight and have less pressure. [quote]Yet with that one big mistake on her first event at the American Cup, Johnson became human again. "Actually, she seems to have had a huge load lifted," Teri Johnson, Shawn's mother, told IG. "She seems much more light-hearted and back to the old Shawn. I think it's really great to have some of the spotlight dimmed for a while." A similar situation emerged in 2004, when Carly Patterson began the year by winning the all-around and every event at the American Cup. After tying for first with Courtney Kupets at the U.S. National Championships later that season, the spotlight's glare was at least shared. But when Patterson fell off beam (both days) and placed third at the U.S. Olympic Trials, she could finally relax and focus on Athens. "[Carly] felt like trials was a blessing in disguise because she was on a winning streak, as well, and that it would have to come to an end," says Natalie Patterson, Carly's mother. "It was better to end at trials, which gave her that much more motivation to come back and prove what she was capable of doing. People talk when things like this happen. They write you off as the pressure got to her. This only gave Carly a stronger vengeance to come back and prove herself." Fueled by a deeper resolve, Patterson won the 2004 Olympics over then-world champion and main challenger Svetlana Khorkina. [/quote] Training and more training: [quote] "I'm not, personally, in top shape like I will be in a few months, and this is not the most important meet," Johnson said after the meet. "I came here for experience and to get all my new skills out there." Said Liukin: "Don't get me wrong, I did not have the best competition of my life ... I can improve so much." [/quote] http://intlgymnast.com/opinion/stretching_johnson.html