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INDIANAPOLIS, May 26, 2015 – 2008 Olympic all-around champion Nastia Liukin has added Grand Marshal of the 99th Indianapolis 500 to her list of titles. Liukin spent the holiday weekend in Indianapolis participating in the festivities of the Indianapolis 500 and promoting the 2015 P&G Gymnastics Championships, scheduled for Aug. 13-16 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

In addition to giving a number of interviews, Liukin rubbed shoulders with celebrities, including Patrick Dempsey, Indy Car racing legend Mario Andretti, Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, the Pacers’ Paul George and “Fault in our Stars” author John Green, at the 500 Festival Parade and Snake Pit Ball. On race day, she walked the red carpet, met fellow “Dancing with the Stars” competitor and Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves, and was announced to the crowd prior to the start of the race. On Carb Day, she rode in a two-seater version of the Indy Car for a trip around the famed 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, with the speed nearing 200 mph.

Liukin, who currently resides in New York City, retired from competitive gymnastics in 2012 after a career in which she was a key member of the U.S. team. She won five Olympic medals (one gold, three silver and one bronze) and nine World medals (four gold, five silver), tying Shannon Miller and Simone Biles for nine career World medals. Liukin is a member of the NBC gymnastics commentator team and will be in Indianapolis for this year’s P&G Championships. Outside of gymnastics, Liukin has embarked on several successful business ventures, including modeling for BCBG/Max Azria; teaming up with Fisher-Price to introduce a new interactive Dora the Explorer doll, “Fantastic Gymnastics Dora”; launched Supergirl by Nastia, a line of signature clothing at JC Penney; designed her own leotard line with GK/Elite Sportswear and a signature line of training gymnastics equipment with AAI; served on the creative team and performed in the 2012 Kellogg’s Tour of Gymnastics Champions; and was a reporter for NBC’s coverage of the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. She is currently a senior studying international sports management at New York University.

About the P&G Gymnastics Championships
Single session tickets, as well as all-session and multi-session ticket packages, are on sale now. Tickets may be purchased at Ticketmaster through ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster charge by phone 1-800-745-3000 or at participating Walmart locations in Central Indiana and Bankers Life Fieldhouse Box Office. Tickets are also available at a discounted price through participating local gymnastics clubs. Go to PGChamps.com for more information.

The Indiana Sports Corp, Pacers Sports & Entertainment, the City of Indianapolis and the State of Indiana are the event’s local organizers. St. Vincent Sports Performance is the official medical and performance nutrition provider of USA Gymnastics and the 2015 P&G Gymnastics Championships. Indianapolis has served as the headquarters for USA Gymnastics since 1983.

The 2015 P&G Gymnastics Championships, USA Gymnastics’ national championships, features the country’s best gymnasts vying for U.S. titles and spots on the U.S. National Team in men’s and women’s gymnastics. Sam Mikulak of Newport Coast, Calif./Team Hilton HHonors (University of Michigan), and Simone Biles of Spring, Texas/World Champions Centre, won the men’s and women’s U.S. all-around titles, respectively, in 2013-14. Biles recently won her second straight World all-around title, along with gold World medals for team, balance beam and floor exercise and the vault silver.