Gymnast Nastia Liukin is set to attend the 2014 Winter Olympics — on the sidelines reporting, that is. The U.S. gold medalist will join NBC's broadcasting team for the upcoming Sochi, Russia games, she confirms to Us Weekly. The athlete has previously contributed to NBC's online coverage for the Summer Games in London in 2012.
"I'm thrilled to be a part of the NBC team reporting at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi," Liukin tells Us. "As both a U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist and as a dual U.S.-Russian citizen whose family has an Olympic legacy in Russia, the Sochi Games will be particularly meaningful to me. I'm honored and excited to be able to bring that unique perspective to Russia's first winter Olympics."
The Moscow native, 24, is a dual Russian-U.S. citizen and previously won five medals at the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing — one gold, three silver, and one bronze. She also ties with Shannon Miller and Mary Lou Retton for the most won at a single Olympics for a U.S. gymnast. The medalist is currently a student at New York University.
The reporting news comes just one week after fellow US Olympian Johnny Weir announced that he too will be working with NBC for the 2014 Sochi Olympics. He also revealed he's retiring from figure skating.
"Seventeen years ago, it's hard to say exactly how, but I knew my life would have some magic, and I have figure skating to thank for that," he said to Us in a statement at the time. "I wish for everyone in this world to have even one moment of finding their bliss and chasing after it at all costs and I pray that you are lucky enough to even have two of those moments, because they are fleeting and sometimes unappreciated."
