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

Gymnast Nastia Liukin does her routine on the uneven parallel bars at the 2008 U.S. Olympic gymnastics team trials in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 22, 2008.[Xinhua/Reuters Photo]

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.

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

In recognition of the impeccable organization of the Olympic Games, the FIG bestowed the silver medal of recognition to Chinese Wang Tongjie, competition director in Beijing Olympics.

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.

Gymnast Nastia Liukin does her routine on the uneven parallel bars at the 2008 U.S. Olympic gymnastics team trials in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania June 22, 2008.[Xinhua/Reuters Photo]

(Xinhua News Agency October 28, 2008)