Martha Karolyi’s successor knows a thing or two about developing Olympic champions, too.
Valeri Liukin, whose daughter Nastia is the 2008 Olympic all-around gold medalist, was announced Friday as the new women’s national team coordinator. He replaces Karolyi, who retired after Rio, where the U.S. women won a record nine medals, including their second consecutive Olympic team title.
“As a coach, it’s a dream to have an Olympic champion. The next one is obviously this one, to be the national team coordinator,” Liukin told USA TODAY Sports. “I feel I can do so much more at this point than coach one athlete.