2008 BEIJING GAMES; WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS; Glimmer of father's gold shone in Liukin; The Olympic champion gymnast never needed to look far for inspiration -- it was hanging in her room.(SPORTS) - Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)

Byline: RACHEL BLOUNT; STAFF WRITER

BEIJING - One by one, Nastia Liukin picked out pictures of people and things that inspired her, then stuck them to a poster board. She placed it in her bedroom, where it could fuel her dreams at night and greet her when she awoke.

Her mother, Anna, knew something was missing. When Nastia was out, Anna took one of the two gold medals won by Valeri Liukin -- her husband and Nastia's dad and coach -- and hung it on the board. This was Nastia's dream, after all, to be an Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics as her father had been a generation earlier.

She one-upped her dad Friday by winning the women's all-around gold on an historic day for the Americans. Liukin, 18, gave the U.S. its first back-to-back Olympic golds in the women's all-around, following Carly Patterson in 2004. Shawn Johnson, 16, finished second, marking the first time two U.S. gymnasts had made the podium in the event.

By the time she ends her first Olympics, Liukin will have the chance to surpass her father's total of four Olympic medals. She won silver in the team competition and will compete in three apparatus finals -- balance beam, uneven bars and floor exercise -- later in the Games. Friday, she could barely comprehend she had her first gold.

'I can't believe it,' said Liukin, who finished with 63.325 points to Johnson's 62.725. 'I worked so hard for so many years for this.

'I saw (Valeri's gold medal) every single day when I woke up. That gave me a little extra motivation. I think that made a little bit of difference, just to be able to see it, having it there in my room, knowing that in a few months I could have one of my own.'

Valeri Liukin competed for the Soviet Union at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and won silver in the men's all-around. Anna was a world champion rhythmic gymnast. In 1993, Valeri moved with his wife and toddler daughter from Moscow to the United States.

The family settled in Plano, Texas, where Valeri established the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy. Nastia has won four gold and five silver medals in world championship competition, equaling Shannon Miller's American record.

Liukin and Johnson anchored the U.S. team that took silver behind China on Wednesday.

Liukin said she was not disappointed. But she and Johnson wanted more. They made a calendar to hang over their beds in the village, counting the days until they got their next chance for gold.

'Looking at the next day, it's all-around finals,' Liukin said of their evening on Thursday. 'We're just looking at each other like, `Can you believe it? Tomorrow's the day!' We just wanted to go all-out and have fun.'

They managed to do both.

'I couldn't be any prouder of Nastia,' Johnson said. 'She deserved that gold medal. She's one of my best friends, and the USA was standing on top of the podium. We just wanted the best for each other.'

Liukin and Johnson both will compete in the finals of the floor exercise Sunday and the balance beam Tuesday. Liukin also made Monday's finals in the uneven bars.

The silver seemed to whet Johnson's appetite. She proclaimed after the all-around that she wants to try again at the 2012 Olympics in London.

'I probably would have told you a month ago that I was done,' she said. 'But after being here and experiencing the Olympics, I'd give anything to feel that again.'