Liukin catches dad in medal count

BEIJING -- In 1988, Valeri Liukin tied for an Olympic gold medal on the high bar for the Soviet Union.

Fast-forward 20 years.

His daughter, Nastia, tied for first for the USA in the women's equivalent -- the uneven bars -- in an Olympic women's gymnastics individual final Monday at the National Indoor Stadium.

Only this time there was a series of tiebreakers in place, and Nastia Liukin took silver and China's He Kexin gold. It was Liukin's fourth medal of this Olympics. If she gets another in today's balance beam final, she will tie Shannon Miller for most by an American gymnast in an Olympics. Miller won five in 1992.

The competition between Liukin and He was so close that the first tiebreaker still left them deadlocked. A second formula was used, and He had fewer deductions on execution. The difference between the gymnasts was ever ...