Olympic gold medalist Nastia Liukin seeks balance off the beam
Olympic gold medalist Nastia Liukin and Alex Perry explore what it takes to move on after a career high in episode 8 of the Alex Perry On Fire podcast.
After winning the gold in the 2008 Olympics, gymnast Nastia Liukin can remember thinking, 'What next?'
Years of intensive training led to a career high but left this record-setting athlete wondering, ‘What’s next?’
In a raw, real discussion with podcast host Alex Perry, released July 17, Liukin talks about what an Olympic gold medalist, or contender, such as Simone Biles, Suni Lee or Jade Carey, might face after an intense focus on that career high.
It’s a rare look at how a successful Olympian built her life after achieving the gold in the 2008 games.
The 2024 Olympics start July 26 with the opening ceremony in Paris. Gymnastics competitions begin July 27.
But more than a decade ago, when Nastia Liukin approached the uneven bars during the 2012 Olympic Trials, she was at the top of her game. Then she fell off the bars mid-routine.
Liukin reveals in the latest episode of the Alex Perry On Fire podcast that it wasn’t a failure for her. She told host Alex Perry that fall would become the defining moment of her career, because it taught her that she could move on and still remain strong.
It's a lesson—and a message—she wants to send out to the young gymnasts heading to Paris next week for the 2024 Olympic Games and pursuing their own journey for the gold.
“We're all going to fall on our face, whether literally or figuratively,” she says during her Alex Perry On Fire appearance. “How do you pick yourself up? How do you keep going? How do you redefine yourself? ... We will never be defined by a gold medal, a salary, a job title, a relationship. ... None of those things define who we are as humans.”
Alex Perry On Fire launched in June 2024 to offer listeners a path toward better life balance. Host Perry challenges guests to get real about their struggles and share how they have found a more energized, balanced life that fires up personal growth, wellbeing and enjoyment.
“My talk with Nastia should really speak to people who are so focused on a specific career goal that they let the other parts of their lives—the things that might bring them true joy—go on autopilot,” Perry said. “Nastia really shows how she is trying to reset that part of her life.”
In "An Olympian Journeys Beyond the Gold,” Liukin opens up about defining herself beyond her athletic achievements and the pressure of constantly being asked to talk about her accomplishments in gymnastics.
She said it’s important to embody resilience and perseverance, and to find new sources of fulfillment and purpose in life.
"The bar, no pun intended, is set so high,” she tells Alex Perry On Fire listeners. “And the perfectionism that it took to be the best in the world never goes away, as much as you try to kind of brush it away. ... It’s a fine line of finding fulfillment without perfectionism.”
The Alex Perry On Fire podcast is distributed through YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Audible.
***
Alex Perry On Fire is a weekly podcast hosted by the RealTrends No. 1 luxury real estate agent in Dallas and all of Texas. The mission is to help others find balance in life, a journey that Perry has been on for the better part of a year. Through real and raw conversations, Perry hopes to show listeners that they aren’t alone—that everyone has struggles.
Ellen Sedeno
Sterner Sedeno Communications
esedeno@sternersedeno.com
Visit us on social media:
Instagram
YouTube
TikTok
Nastia Liukin: An Olympian journeys beyond the gold
EIN Presswire does not exercise editorial control over third-party content provided, uploaded, published, or distributed by users of EIN Presswire. We are a distributor, not a publisher, of 3rd party content. Such content may contain the views, opinions, statements, offers, and other material of the respective users, suppliers, participants, or authors.
