The duo of Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin is expected to lead the U.S.- and each other - to the top

By Nancy Armour

Associated Press

THE other gymnasts have long since gone, and Nastia Liukin and her parents are about to follow them out the door. When Shawn Johnson comes back into the room, though, Liukin stops.

They’ve just spent the last five days together, yet there are still things they must chat about. And though they’ll see each other in another week, the world’s best gymnasts exchange a big hug before Liukin runs to catch up to her parents.

Nancy and Tonya these two most certainly are not.

“We always think it’s funny,” Liukin said, smiling at the question she and Johnson have been hearing for months now. “Outside the gym, we’re good friends, and lots of people can’t see it. When we’re on the floor, we have to be serious and focused.

“Outside the gym, we’re just like anybody else.”

Well, anybody else who has their own TV commercials and endorsement deals.

Johnson and Liukin are gymnastics’ equivalent of the Dream Team, the two most talented, and decorated, athletes of their generation who are expected to give the United States an unbeatable 1-2 punch in Beijing.

That the teammates are also each other’s biggest rival for the all-around gold, or “queen of gymnastics” as Bela Karolyi likes to call it, only makes their sweet little story more appealing. Because whether it’s A-Rod and Jeter, Kobe and Shaq, or T.O. and anybody, things can get a little ugly when two superstars are sharing the same team.

“I don’t feel that,” Johnson insisted. “We’re really good friends, we’re really good competitors and we’re both really good athletes. I think it’s great just because it makes me work really hard and makes her work really hard. And we’re just helping each other get to a higher level for the team.

“I honestly don’t see a huge competition or rivalry between us,” Johnson added. “We’re really good friends and always have been.”

Look at their reaction after they’d secured the two guaranteed spots on the Beijing team at the Olympic trials. While thousands of fans cheered them, they hugged and congratulated each other, tears of joy filling their eyes.

“We looked at each other for the longest time,” said Liukin, who also brushed away the bits of confetti that landed on John-son’s head. “Shawn said to me, ‘Can you believe it?’ She’s like, ‘We made it.’”

As if there was ever any doubt.

The 16-year-old Johnson is the reigning world champion and has lost only one meet since moving up to the senior ranks last year. That loss? A close one to Liukin. The 18-year-old Liukin, meanwhile, has three world titles on balance beam and uneven bars, and missed winning the biggest crown of all in 2005 by .001 points.

They are power (Johnson) and grace (Liukin), and the combination makes the Americans the favorites for gold. At last fall’s world championships, Johnson and Liukin led the Americans to the team title, then grabbed three of the five individual golds.

As equally talented as they are, Johnson and Liukin are polar opposites.

At 4-foot-9, Johnson is loaded with power, an explosive tumbler with catlike reflexes who makes the most difficult of tricks look easy. Bubbly and personable with a megawatt smile, she comes by the comparisons to Mary Lou Retton easily.

“They’re similar in body types, and she’s a very good performer,” said Kim Zmeskal Burdette, who was on the 1991 world and 1992 Olympic teams and is now a coach. “The look in her eye, there’s just an ultimate confidence there. I remember that definitely looking at Mary Lou. You trusted her; you knew she was going to hit.”

Liukin, the daughter of a double gold medalist at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul for the Soviet machine and a world champion in rhythmic gymnastics, is the perfect blend of artistry and athleticism. Long and lithe at 5-foot-3, her lines and natural grace make anything she does, from double back-flips to bending down to put chalk on her hands, look exquisite. Quieter but no less expressive than Johnson, her routines are more like a ballerina’s performance.

“She does the most beautiful gymnastics I’ve ever seen,” Retton said. “I look at her in complete awe, because she’s the complete opposite of the gymnast I was.”

Together, they give the United States a foundation in team finals no other country can match. Or that any judge or fan could quibble with: After watching Johnson and Liukin go back to back, nobody can say the Americans simply turn out carbon-copy athletes from a gymnastics factory.

“I don’t see any negatives,” Karolyi said. “Strong competition between the girls, it definitely leads to progress for both of them. When they’re doing their routines, each of them wants to be No. 1, and that’s good.”

There comes a time, though, when the teamwork must end.

“There’s always going to be something, some kind of drama. Without that, there would be no excitement,” Liukin said. “So I think that definitely adds more excitement, and it kind of makes people a lot more interested in it, trying to see, ‘Well, who’s going to win this time?’”

The team goal is admirable, of course. And, as the Magnificent Seven found in 1996, a gold medal is sure to bring all kinds of riches, both during and after the games.

But the all-around champion still carries a unique aura and, if it’s the right person, the gleam of that gold medal can transform an athlete into an icon. Think of Retton or Nadia Comaneci. Does anyone remember where their teams finished?

That’s why sponsors lined up by the dozens long ago to get a piece of each girl. You can find Johnson on Coke cans and McDonald’s cups this summer. Liukin is on the cover of a SEGA game and NASCAR driver Jeff Burton’s car. Both are getting more time on NBC this summer than the “American Gladiators.”

“We don’t talk about that. We never bring up sponsors,” Liukin said, looking slightly horrified at the thought of something so tacky.

But they’re well aware of what’s at stake for each of them. Like every other little gymnast, they dreamt of standing atop the Olympic podium one day.

Alone.

“In the end, we ARE trying to beat each other,” Liukin said. “When we’re out there, though, we’re not thinking about it.”

Said Johnson, “Hopefully we will end up pushing each other to such a high level that no one can beat either of us. No matter what, we’ll both be on the top 1 and 2 spots.”