By Matt Mueller Culture Editor Published Feb 17, 2020 at 8:36 PM

It may be snowing right now, but soon enough it'll be summer – and in 2020, that means the summer Olympics. In just a few months, Tokyo will ignite the world's most famous flame and launch more than two weeks of thrilling global games. But before they head off to Japan, some of the United States and the world's best gymnasts will head to Milwaukee. 

On March 6-7, Fiserv Forum will host the American Cup, the first of the four all-around qualifying events included in the International Gymnastics Federation’s World Cup Series, featuring 13 men and 13 women from across the globe vying for a spot at the upcoming Olympic games in Tokyo. Plus, on Friday night, the next generation of female gymnastics champions will take the mat at the Nastia Liukin Cup, which features several of the U.S.'s finest Junior Olympic competitors.

But who better to explain next month's gold-medal gymnastics than an actual gold-medal gymnast: Nastia Liukin, who earned a place at the top of the podium at the 2008 Beijing games as the all-around women's champ as well as silver medals on uneven bars, balance beam and with the entire U.S. women's team. Hanging out at M&M Gymnastics & Dance in New Berlin, we chatted with Liukin about what the American Cup and the Nastia Liukin Cup mean to her and the Olympics, some of the gymnasts to watch for at the weekend's events and just what she did with her hard-earned gold medal.

For more information on tickets and the American Cup, go to Fiserv Forum's website.

Matt Mueller Culture Editor

As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.

When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.