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Liukin 'Athlete of the Year' in gymnastics
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-10-27 21:22

BEIJING -- American Olympic champion Nastia Liukin won the award of "Athlete of the Year" in gymnastics, as the FIG statement said on Sunday.


Nastia Liukin of the US competes in the gymnastics women's beam final at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 19, 2008. [Agencies]

The president of FIG, international gymnastics governing body, Bruno Grandi announced attribution of the "Athlete of the Year" award to Liukin, the Beijing Olympic champion in women's all-around last week in FIG's General Assembly in Helsinki.

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The International Olympic Committee's "Women and Sport" diploma was awarded to Kirsti Partanen, president of the Finnish Gymnastics Federation.

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Paraguay and the Comoros were admitted as affiliated and associated federations respectively.

Four federations have shown interest in hosting the next FIG Congress in 2010. They are Turkey, Britain, India and Egypt and the hosting city will be decided in the spring of 2009.