Nastia Liukin took the world by storm during the 2008 Olympic Games, clinching gold in the women’s gymnastics all-around. Ascending to the top of her sport, Liukin quickly captured national attention and admiration, solidifying her place as gymnastics royalty.

Born in Moscow, Raised in Texas

Gymnastics has been part of Liukin’s life from the start, after she was born to two Soviet champion gymnasts, Valeri Liukin and Anna Kotchneva, in Moscow in 1989. When she was just two years old, Liukin, along with her parents, moved to the United States, landing first in New Orleans and then settling in Dallas, TX.

Liukin’s parents immediately started on their shared dream of establishing a gymnastics gym and training facility. The young star quickly started hanging around her parents’ business, taking to the sport right away.

Soon after Liukin began training, her father reluctantly began coaching her, something he initially hoped to avoid. The sport’s physical dangers motivated Liukin’s dad to watch over her, spot her and ensure his daughter’s safety.

“I think they really, really were hoping that I wasn’t going to be good,” Liukin told Kelly O’Hara on the Just Women’s Sports podcast, adding that her parents were worried their success in the sport would be too much pressure for their daughter.

Liukin’s future in the sport was never a forgone conclusion, with the gymnast inheriting her mother’s taller, slender body type rather than the more compact strength necessary for an artistic gymnast. It wasn’t until she made the junior national team at 12-years old that Liukin felt that people started to notice her burgeoning talent. Though Liukin was too young to participate in the 2004 Olympics, Carly Patterson, who trained at Liukin’s gym, won the all-around gold in Athens, giving the teen hope for her own Olympic dreams. In 2005, Liukin won gold in the balance beam and uneven bars at the World Championship, racking up silver medals in all-around and floor, and setting off an illustrious junior career.

Ahead of the 2008 Olympics, in 2007, Liukin hit a snag, injuring her ankle.

“That year at Worlds, I traveled in a wheelchair, couldn’t walk,” Liukin recalls to O’Hara, adding that she could only compete for the team on uneven bars.

Eventually, Liukin underwent surgery after reinjuring her ankle, leading to what she deems “the worst year of my career.” But in hindsight, Liukin says the challenging year was the “best thing that kind of could have happened,” adding that the “low down” lit a fire ahead of the Olympics.

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2008 Olympics

After coming second in the Olympic Trials to Shawn Johnson East, Liukin was named to the Team USA roster, with the moment only feeling real to the 18-year-old when she boarded the flight to Beijing. Soon the hype started to build as roommates and teammates Liukin and East began competing against each other for individual medals.

The 2008 Games marked the first Olympics where two American gymnasts were favored to go one and two in the coveted all-around event, creating a palpable rivalry between Liukin and East.

“We were fine being roommates — we were actually really good friends that just happened to have the same exact goal,” said Liukin, revealing that the relationship began to change around the all-around event. After Liukin clinched gold in the all-around and East took silver, the two tried their best to support each other, but the competition and noise around both athletes made that difficult.

Though complicated by a complex team dynamic, capturing the all-around title was an unforgettable moment Liukin shared with her father and coach.

“I’ve never in my life seen my dad cry, and I spotted him way across the arena and he was crying,” Liukin recalls of the medal ceremony. The Olympic feat was very much a full-circle moment, with her dad having won silver in the all-around 20 years prior.

Liukin finished the Beijing Games with silver medals in balance beam, team, uneven bars, and a bronze in the floor exercise.

Post-Olympic life

Following the Olympics, Liukin reveals she experienced moments of depression, wondering what came next after achieving her wildest dreams. Her lingering melancholy was compounded by Liukin’s deteriorating friendship with East. The post-Olympic media circus and rival management teams had torn the former friends apart.

“It felt like the world just started pitting us against each other in every single aspect — it was 10 times worse than leading up to the Olympics,” admits Liukin.

After eight years of silence between the former competitors, Johnson reached out to Liukin via email, with the two eventually agreeing to meet up. Following the initial reunion, Liukin attended East’s wedding, even becoming the godmother to the couple’s first child.

The two are not shy about their evolving friendship, often reliving their days as competitors and bringing fans along on their reconciliation journey.

Gymnastics Retirement

After taking a much-needed two years off from the sport following her Olympic debut, Liukin decided to make a run for the 2012 London Games. Making it all the way to the Olympic Trials, Liukin faced one of the hardest moments in her career, falling during her best event, the uneven bars.

“I fell face first and faceplanted,” Liukin remembers. After the initial shock wore off, Liukin dusted herself off to the crowd’s adoration.

“I wanted to crawl under the podium,” said Liukin. “Then I was like, ‘okay wait, this isn’t how my career ends.’”

The American star finished the routine, and though she was embarrassed and knew her Olympic dreams were dashed, the crowd gave Liukin a standing ovation. That moment helped Liukin to realize her worth wasn’t defined solely by her gymnastics successes.

She retired from the mat shortly after that competition, officially leaving gymnastics.

What’s next

Liukin left gymnastics as a competitor but has hung around the sport after being hired as an NBC commentator. Most recently, Liukin covered the Tokyo Games, establishing herself as a compelling sports broadcaster who we’ll likely see again during the 2024 Games.

Liukin also maintains a website where she shares her love for all things “fitness, fashion, beauty, and living a healthy and well-balanced lifestyle.”

Rose Lavelle is hoping to return to the field soon. 

The 28-year-old midfielder has been sidelined with a lower leg injury since the Gold Cup in early march. Since then, she has yet to play for new club Gotham FC in the NWSL. She also missed a potential USWNT appearance at the SheBelieves Cup in April, where senior team newcomer Jaedyn Shaw saw success assuming Lavelle's role in the attacking midfield. 

At the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee media showcase on Monday, Lavelle told reporters that she’s doing well and hopes to be back soon.

"I’m doing good — I’m hoping I’ll be back in the next couple weeks," Lavelle said. "It’s frustrating to start the year off with an injury, just because I feel like you come off preseason and you’re revving to go, so it’s so annoying."

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Lavelle is still looking to compete for one of just 18 Olympic roster spots. When healthy, she ranks as one of the national team’s most trusted assets, but considering this most recent injury, her health is an obvious concern. Faced with an onslaught of experienced competitors and young talent, incoming USWNT coach Emma Hayes will have some big decisions to make when selecting the Paris-bound squad — a reality Lavelle seems to be taking in stride as she works to regain full fitness.

"We have so many special players, we have so much depth, and so many different weapons to utilize on and off the bench," Lavelle said. "Unfortunately that means really good players are going to get left off, too. And I think for all of us, it’s just about being ready for whatever role is given to us, embracing that, and looking to put it into a collective picture so that we can go into the Olympics ready to go."

Stanford has found its replacement for legendary head women's basketball coach Tara VanDerveer in associate head coach Kate Paye.

The Cardinal confirmed the hiring on Tuesday via a press release. Paye was largely expected to replace the longtime head coach, as the college mentioned they were still negotiating Paye's contract when they announced VanDerveer's retirement.

In Tuesday's statement, Paye reported that she was "humbled" to have been tapped to lead the women’s program.

"Stanford University has been a central part of my life for as long as I can remember and I am humbled to have the opportunity to lead its women’s basketball program," Paye said. "I’d first like to thank Tara, who has played such a pivotal role in my career for her friendship and guidance. It’s not what she’s done, but how she’s done it, that has had such a profound impact upon me."

A Woodside, California native, Paye played under VanDerveer from 1992 to 1995, taking home a national title her freshman year. After graduation, Paye briefly joined San Diego State as an assistant coach before making her professional debut with the ABL's Seattle Reign in 1996. After finishing her playing career with the WNBA's Seattle Storm, she joined the team’s coaching staff in 2007 and has been with the organization ever since, picking up another national title win — this time as associate head coach — in 2021. Paye's brother John played quarterback for Stanford from 1983 to 1986, while also serving as a point guard on the basketball team.

In her own response, VanDerveer said that she was "grateful" that Stanford picked Paye to follow in her stead. Last week, the decorated coach stated that this year would be her last after 38 seasons at the helm and three national titles under her belt.

"She has long been ready for this opportunity and is the perfect leader for Stanford at this time of immense change in college athletics," VanDerveer noted. "Kate was the choice for this job and I am confident she will achieve great success as head coach."

The 2024 WNBA Draft has officially concluded, leaving the newly minted rookie class facing a tough road ahead.

Only 144 roster slots are available throughout the league’s 12 teams, the reason why the players are sometimes referred to as the “144.” And Monday’s draft picks are set to join a large group of established players competing for those same roster spots, from seasoned veterans to young athletes determined to prove their value on the court.

Last year, just 15 of the league’s 36 draftees made it onto their drafting team's opening-day squad.

In reality, there are oftentimes fewer than 144 spots available, as not every team maxes out their roster. Per the league's CBA, each team roster must maintain a minimum standard of 11 players, but those lists can include players out with injuries or on other forms of leave. Players can also be assigned to short-term hardship contracts, something waived players must be prepared for at any point during the season.

Earlier this week, Laeticia Amihere — a 2022 national champion with South Carolina who currently plays for the Atlanta Dream — took to TikTok to provide some insight into the WNBA training camp process. 

"You can either get drafted on Draft Night, or you can get signed by a team," she said. "Once that happens, you go to training camp literally like two weeks later... Basically everybody's got to try out. There's 12 roster spots, and there's like 18 people at the at the trial."

@laeticiaamihere Replying to @dantavius.washington #wnba #draft ♬ original sound - Laeticia Amihere

Amihere also had an important point to make: Getting cut does not signify a player’s abilities. 

"If you get cut after training camp, that does not mean you're not good," she said. "That does not mean that player sucks, don't stop supporting that player. Literally, there's so many reasons somebody can get cut."

"If you guys look at the best players in the league, most of them have bounced around teams," she added. "And I promise you it is not a bad thing, it's just how the league is."

Things, however gradually, are changing. With Golden State's WNBA team scheduled to launch in time for the 2025 season, league expansion is just around the corner. On Monday, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced that the league is aiming to grow to 16 teams by 2028. But by then, it might be too little too late for the generation of talent emerging from an increasingly competitive NCAA system.

Monday night’s WNBA draft added to the nationwide uptick in record-breaking women's sports viewership, pulling in 2.45 million viewers throughout the nearly two-hour broadcast and peaking at 3.09 million, according to an ESPN release. 

That number shatters the previous draft viewership record — 601,000 in 2004 — which was fueled primarily by then-No. 1 pick Diana Taurasi entering the league after UConn's historic three-peat March Madness performance.  

The 2023 WNBA draft drew 572,000 viewers, the most for any televised WNBA event since 2.74 million tuned in to NBC for a Memorial Day matchup between the New York Liberty and Houston Comets back in 2000.

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While many came to watch Caitlin Clark get drafted No. 1 overall, it’s important to note that viewership didn’t take a massive dip after the superstar shooter left the stage. The numbers show that a bulk of the audience stuck around to watch the remainder of the show, making 2024's event not just the most-viewed WNBA draft in history, but also the most-viewed WNBA program to ever air on ESPN platforms.

Draft Day's popularity is yet another sign indicating an expected rise in WNBA regular season viewership. Clark and Iowa's NCAA tournament showdown with the Chicago Sky-bound Kamilla Cardoso's South Carolina side drew a record 18.7 million to ABC's Sunday afternoon broadcast. Banking on this trend, 36 of Indiana's upcoming 40 games are set to be shown on national television. In-person ticket sales are also soaring, leading the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces to re-home their matchup with the Fever to a venue that can accommodate some 6,000 more fans.