Another award for Michael Phelps: The record-setting swimmer was chosen the U.S. Olympic Committee’s sportsman of the year on Thursday.
All-around gymnastics champion Nastia Liukin and swimmer Natalie Coughlin, who won six medals in Beijing, tied in voting for sportswoman of the year. …
larger version – flickr – jodfevic
Liukin said she is back in the gym, training five to six hours a day. She will head to the U.S. team training camp next week. Liukin plans a comeback this year and may defend her Olympic title in 2012.
“People say, ‘Why keep going?’ ” she said. “I love competing and enjoy the sport. That overpowers the questions of putting my title up there. I haven’t made a 100 percent commitment [to return] but I’m making the commitment to myself to get in shape and compete.”
Nastia is the third individual gymnast to win this award, joining Kim Zmeskal (1991) and Carly Patterson (2004).
related – USAG – Liukin named 2008 USOC Co-Sportswoman of the Year
UPDATE: Commenters on the International Gymnast forum speculate that Shawn Johnson will not return to compete internationally for the USA. I’d say Nastia has a better shot than Shawn at qualifying for World’s 2009. It would be “easy” for her to make the team on Beam and Bars.
Gymnastics Coaching.com 