DALLAS -- She has walked the red carpets, worn the gold medals. Yet maybe the best picture of how Olympic champion Nastia Liukin got where she is was a scene at a national training camp earlier this year.

There she was, patiently waiting behind a 13-year-old junior for her chance to take a few passes across the balance beam.

Just another gymnast? Hardly. But she knows it takes a lot of time, work and dedication to get on the front of that Wheaties box.

";If you don't have the true love for the sport, you will not do that," national team coordinator Martha Karolyi said. ";Because basically, you have accomplished your goal. But as Nastia says, she absolutely loves the process."

Loves it so much that she cannot let it go. At least not yet.

The defending Olympic champion is shooting for a repeat in 2012. The next big step comes this week at U.S. gymnastics championships in front of a hometown crowd -- a crowd that will be full of young girls who look up to her, want to be like her, or at least want an autograph and to steal a glance at her gold medal.

Still getting back into shape after a year of awards ceremonies, photo shoots and worldwide travel, Liukin will only compete in two events -- bars and beam -- when the women's competition opens Thursday. The men start Wednesday.

Though she will only be on stage for a few minutes over four days of gymnastics, Liukin is the star. In fact, USA Gymnastics president Steve Penny conceded he brought the nationals to Dallas in part as a tribute to Liukin.

";Just because I accomplished the biggest thing in gymnastics doesn't mean you have to call it quits," Liukin said. ";I still have the desire and motivation to accomplish bigger things. I know I have that opportunity to accomplish something that's never been done before. It's pretty amazing."

Liukin has nine world championship medals, tying her with Shannon Miller as the most decorated American gymnast in history. She needs one more at the worlds in London in October to own the record by herself.

She is also looking toward London in 2012, where she would try to become the first woman to repeat in the Olympic all-around since 1968 -- a sign of both how difficult gymnastics is and the realities of the women's side of a sport that favors youth.

";It's a hard sport," she said. ";Nothing comes easy. You work hard for everything you do. But it's also so rewarding."

She is giving back, too. Liukin announced a partnership with USA Gymnastics to create the Nastia Liukin Cup, which will give gymnasts a notch below the elite level a chance to compete on a podium in a big arena the day before the American Cup every winter.

Proceeds from that event will go toward a scholarship fund the 19-year-old Liukin is establishing for young gymnasts with financial hardships.

";Gymnastics is just something I've always had a huge passion for," she said. ";From the time I took my first steps on the floor, I never wanted to leave the gym, never wanted to take the leotard off."

While Liukin is rounding back into shape, Bridget Sloan is a favorite for the all-around national championship. Pushing her will be Ivana Hong and Jana Bieger. The Olympic silver medalist and reigning ";Dancing With The Stars" champion, Shawn Johnson, is still deciding whether she wants to return to gymnastics.

The men start Wednesday, with Jonathan Horton -- leader of a team that won bronze in Beijing -- among the favorites to win his first national championship. The men's draw is significantly deeper than the women's. Others to watch include Joseph Hagerty, Guillermo Alvarez and 17-year-old Danell Leyva, who carries one of the toughest high bar routines in the world.

The American men climbed from 13th in the world in 2006 to third in Beijing. This marks their first full Olympic cycle without Paul and Morgan Hamm since 1993-96, and along with establishing a new identity, they have to increase the difficulty of routines across the board to take another step.

";What we'll see will be more difficult than at the Olympics but not what we're looking for in the long run," men's team coordinator Ron Brant said. ";We'll start seeing more of that in 2010 but we're preparing for it now."

Liukin, meanwhile, has nothing left to prove.

Still, she admits being a little nervous to be competing in her hometown arena, especially because she does not consider herself in 100-percent competition form.

";The very best I can do is try my hardest and give 100 percent effort," she said.

Which usually means she'll walk away with a medal or two.

ROPES AND MATS: Karolyi urged Chellsie Memmel, the 2005 all-around world champion, to stick with gymnastics after Beijing. Memmel is on the entry sheet for Thursday but said she hasn't decided for sure whether she'll compete. ";I'm not in competition shape yet," she said. If she does go, she'll compete only on beam. ... A couple of America's top prospects for 2012, Mattie Larson and Samantha Shapiro, will not compete this week because of injuries. ... Liukin and 2004 all-around champion Carly Patterson each trained at World Olympic Gymnastics Academy based in Plano, just outside of Dallas.