The United States Sports Academy honored both artists and athletes at an awards presentation on Friday in Daphne. Olympic gymnastics gold medalist Nastia Liukin won the award for Female Athlete of the Year.

Liukin won the gold in the gymnastics all-around competition at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She went on to win the silver in the uneven bars competition as well. The moment she won the gold is still prevalent in Liukin’s mind.

“It was surreal to me, I wasn’t sure what was going on,” Liukin said. “I saw my name on the results board and saw my name in first place, but it didn’t feel like the Olympics, it just felt like any other competition. I’d seen my name in first place a few times, but to know it was the Olympics, it was unbelievable.”

Liukin’s win for Athlete of the Year came as a result of a worldwide vote, where Liukin beat out athletes like Serena Williams.

Honored alongside Liukin was artist Bruce Larsen, an Auburn grad and Fairhope native, who completed a sculpture of Liukin as part of the celebration. Larsen creates his pieces from “found objects,” or what other people might consider junk.

“Doing such an elegant form as Nastia out of old tractor parts is really a stretch of the imagination,” Larsen said. “I did my best and I think it turned out pretty well. For [Nastia’s sculpture], I had to actually go out and find pieces. A lot of the time, the piece will tell me what it wants to do. I started this piece with two arms from a tractor because they were long and elegant. So, that was the starting point. I drew it out and started to work it out.”

Larsen personally presented Liukin a piece he made specifically for her, also created from found objects. Present at the event were several local students, who as fans of Liukin were able to get some advice from the star herself.

“People always thought that my parents wanted me to do gymnastics because they did,” Liukin said. “It was always my dream and my goal to go to the Olympics. “

In order to stay motivated, Liukin recommends setting both small and big goals.

“I always set goals for myself,” she said. “May it be daily or monthly goals. It’s very important to set small goals so you always feel like you’re achieving something. You can say ‘Oh, I want to go to the 2012 Olympics,’ but, that’s in four years. You wouldn’t feel like you were achieving something on a daily basis.”

One of Liukins; next big goals could be competing in the 2012 Olympic games in London, as she has not ruled out the possibility.

“Sixteen is the age where most gymnasts peak in a career,” she said. “So, I was the old one at 18 at the Olympics. I’m 19 now, and I plan on continuing gymnastics as long as I can. I’ll definitely continue training and competing for as long as I can.”

If she does compete in the next Olympics, her training will continue with her father and coach; a former Olympic winner himself.

“Normally at the Olympics people get more nervous because it’s the biggest competition that you can ever compete at,” she said. “Because of my Dad’s help, I was the most prepared I had ever been in my entire life. Going into the competition I was really confident. Because of the way my training was going and the competitions I had before that, I knew what I had to do to go out there and perform my best.”

Also honored at the event was Ron Laird as the Alumnus of the year. Laird is the commissioner of the Wyoming High School Activities Association and president of the National Federation of State High School Associations. The trip to the awards ceremony was Laird’s first since graduating in ‘88.

“It’s interesting to come back,” Laird said, “It’s interesting to see the growth and development of the Academy and the community itself. It’s a pleasure and a honor to be here.”

Dr. Myles Brand was the final honoree, receiving the Theodore Roosevelt Award. Brand is the President of the NCAA, a position he has held since 2002. After the awards were presented, Mayor of Daphne Fred Small presented each honoree with a key to the city.