Nastia Liukin, 13, wins four of five gold medals at junior level.(The Dallas Morning News) - Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service

Byline: Cathy Harasta

MILWAUKEE _ Valeri Liukin stood at attention, hardly breathing, as his daughter, Nastia, finished her balance beam dismount Saturday. Her lead in the U.S. Championships' junior division's all-around was so insurmountable that national gymnastics officials in the U.S. Cellular Arena groped for 'rout' and 'drubbing' and 'runaway.'

If gymnastics had the equivalent of a 10-run rule, the meet would have ended long before Valeri Liukin finally felt free to cry.

When Nastia was done, the 13-year-old from Plano, Texas, had won four of the division's five gold medals and posted a score that would have ranked her among the top senior women.

Her father hugged her and looked into the tiny face. He also looked back, to 1988, when he won four medals for Russia at the Seoul Olympics.

'This is her Olympic Games,' he said. 'This is her day. This is the greatest country in the world. I'm very proud, as a coach and a dad.'

Valeri, who hails from what now is Kazakhstan, became a U.S. citizen two years ago, as did his wife, Anna, the 1987 Rhythmic Gymnastics champion. February will mark the 10-year anniversary of the family's life in Plano and the first decade for the thriving World Olympic Gymnastics Academy. Liukin and Evgeny Marchenko own WOGA, where Liukin coaches his daughter and other young elite athletes.

When they arrived in the United States, stopping first in Louisiana, 11 years ago, Liukin and Marchenko had no idea how they would convert their skills to the American dream. Nobody has to wonder anymore. Their gym, located in a former supermarket, has become one the most successful in the nation.

Nastia defended the junior all-around title won by fellow WOGA gymnast Carly Patterson last year. The gym is going for a double-digit medal total at the U.S. Championships.

Liukin's eyes filled with tears as he described the day. He said he noticed right away that Nastia was issued bib No. 111 in the random draw.

'When they gave her that number, I thought, `Wouldn't it be cool for her to be first again after winning the U.S. Classic and the American Classic?' ' he said. 'That would be one-one-one. I attached that number to her back, and she didn't even know that it was 111.'

The Classics were the last big national meets leading to the U.S. Championships.

'It's a lot of pressure,' Liukin said. 'We worked really hard for this meet. I think she deserved it.'

Nastia talked of her favorite video. It's the one that shows her father's performance at the 1988 Olympics, where he won two gold and two silver medals.

'It's really inspiring,' said Nastia, who attends Spring Creek Academy, a private school in Plano with flexible scheduling for elite athletes and artists. 'I just like watching all of it.'

Martha Karolyi, the women's national team coordinator, was not surprised by Nastia's all-around victory margin of .850 or that she won the balance beam, uneven bars and floor exercise titles.

'She is a special talent,' Karolyi said. 'She has big promise for 2008.'

Under international gymnastics rules, Nastia is too young to compete for the United States at the World Championships in Anaheim, Calif., this August or the 2004 Athens Olympics. Female gymnasts must turn 16 sometime during the Olympic year to participate. But the sport's authorities make no secret of her status as one of the nation's top gymnasts. Just three women in the senior division had better scores in their all-around Thursday than Nastia's 37.250.

Karolyi said that if not for the age rule adopted in the 1990s, Nastia would be in the hunt for the six-woman team for the worlds this year and for the Olympic squad next year.

'Nadia (Comaneci) wasn't quite 14 when she won the Olympic Games in 1976,' Karolyi said. 'For Nastia, only her vault event is weak.'

Nastia will aim for the Pan American Games in the Dominican Republic in August.

Does she have the patience to stick with the sport through the 2008 Olympics in Beijing?

'Yes,' she said with the resolution of one taking a solemn vow. 'I can get new skills and higher start values.'

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