Olympian Nastia Liukin Praises AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR's Contestant Kacy

Nastia Liukin, world-renowned gymnast, and five-time Olympic medalist visited Maria Menounos' online media network AfterBuzz TV and caught up with host Erika Vieira. During the interview, the retired gymnast predicts the next gymnastics star, comments on gymnast Kacy Catanzaro of America Ninja Warrior, and discusses the difficulty of being a gymnast with social media.

"There is a lot of potential coming up the next two years," Liukin responds when asked about her predictions for the next Olympic gymnastics superstar. "Norah Flately is one that I've had my eyes on. She is coached by Gabby's coach and Shawn Johnson's coach and has such great potential. I think in the next two years she will be the one for us to keep our eyes on. Nobody has really seen her in the real world, I think everyone in the gymnastics world is starting to catch up to who she is and what her strengths are."

Liukin also comments on another gymnast, Kacy Catanzaro, who has recently received attention due to her appearance on American Ninja Warrior and made history by completing the show's obstacle course. "If anyone could do it, it would be a gymnast. I think a lot of people underestimate the amount of strength it needs to be a gymnast especially as a girl. The amount of strength, flexibility, stamina, everything it takes to be a gymnast is insane. For her, I'm not surprised at all. She's incredible. It's beyond the physical, the mental, everything you have to do to get that, the dedication, the motivation, the discipline. I couldn't do that. She's amazing."

Liukin moves on to discuss social media and the difficulty of being a gymnast in the public eye. "Its really tough. Especially for gymnasts. We grow up in front of thousands of people on TV in a leotard all the time. You hit that age when you go through puberty and all of a sudden you don't look the same as you did when you were 15 or 16 years old. Not everyone goes through that in front of millions of people in a leotard. It can be uncomfortable," she states. "It's hard with social media." She then goes on, "it is so easy to see one negative comment, there could be 100 positive things and one negative thing and it could just ruin your day. It is important to learn how to not let it affect you that much. You take everything with a grain of salt. You just have to stay neutral."

The full interview between Nastia Liukin and Erika Vieira for AfterBuzz TV can be found online at http://www.afterbuzztv.com and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssDyluHSw-I

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