The 2005 Gymnastics World Championships, kicking off on Tuesday in Melbourne, shows how the family heritage works.

A couple of competitors here have their fathers, mothers, wives, husbands, sisters and brothers involved in the sport and having shone on the world championships and Olympic stage.

When they took to the apparatus for competition, cheering them on from the sidelines, in the stands and at home are the family connections that have supported and inspired them to pursue their dreams.

Both parents of the American rising star Nastia Liukin are former gymnastics greats and listed as Nastia's idols. Her father, Valery Liukin is a former Soviet Union Olympic competitor who took home high bar and team titles at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.

Her mother Anna Liukin also competed as a gymnast for the Soviet Union, as a rhythmic gymnast. Anna was the 1987 World Champion and now coaches Nastia with her husband in Plano, Texas at the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy.

They were equally successful as coaches since Nasitia, 16, has three national titles already to her belt and was widely regarded as successor to retired all-around diva Carly Patterson.

Host gymnast Phillipe Rizzo has apparently heritaged family genes. His father Andre Rizzo was an Olympic gymnast who competed for France and now owns the Australian Academy of Gymnastics in New South Wales. His brother Blaise Rizzo, a gymnastics ex-national champion in 1986 and 1988, ever had a chance representing Australia in international arena.

American Chellsie Memmel, was born to a gymnastics family.She is now coached by her father Andrew Memmel, a former collegiate All American gymnast from Wisconsin. Also involved in gymnastics, her mother is now owning and operating the M&M Gymnastics Club in Wisconsin. Even Memmel's two sisters Skyler and Mara are also competitive gymnasts who train at the club.

Jeffrey Wammes of the Netherlands could learn experiences from her elder sister Gabrielle, a 2002 European runners-up team member.

And the family tradition extended also to Bulgarian Filip Yanev, whose father is among the most respected coaches in this sport, and American Jana Bieger, daughter of three-time Olympian Andrea Bieger.

Spanish Manuel Carballo has two brothers Jesus Carballo and Javier Carballo and they are all elite gymnasts. Horizontal bar specialist Jesus earned the world titles at the 1997 and 1999 World Championships while Javier competed in men's team in 1999 and 2003 worlds. Their father, Jesus Carballo Senior, is the coach of the national women's team and a former gymnast who competed in the 1960s and 1970s.

And some in Melbourne have family members involved in sports other than gymnastics.

Legendary Oxana Chusovitina of Uzbekistan, competing at her 8th world championships in Melbourne, is married to Bakhodir Kurbanov, a former Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler. Kurbanov finished 5th in his weight class at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Bulgarian veteran Jordan Jovtchev's wife Boriana is a former National basketball player. The two have a 4-year-old son named Jordan.

British Beth Tweddle has her brother James playing in the national hockey team. He was called up to the England Under-18 squad in 2000.

(Xinhua)