Русская версияOksana Chusovitina is one of a kind.
Not only is she the oldest
woman in over half a century to win an Olympic medal in gymnastics,
she's been competing for nearly two decades already -- that's
longer than many of her teammates have been alive.
And she's competed in five Olympic Games under three flags. In
1992, just after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, she joined
the unified ex-Soviet squad and in 1996, 2000 and 2004 she competed
for her home country Uzbekistan, where she had already become
something of a national hero.
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Chusovitina's silver will hang next to her team gold from 1992
But this year, after claiming German citizenship in 2006, she is a
member of the German team. Germany has traditionally not been shown
particular strength in gymnastics and Chusovitina's silver on
Sunday in vault was Germany's first Olympic medal in gymnastics in
20 years -- a much needed boost to the team.
Son's illness shaped gymnast's path
Chusovitina began her Olympic career in 1992 with a team gold in
Barcelona. Besides coming up dry after that in Atlanta, Sydney and
Athens, the 16-year quest for an individual medal was a rough one
for the Uzbek athlete.
In 2002, Chusovitina's son Alisher, then three years old, was
diagnosed with leukemia. Since she already had close ties to the
gymnastics team in Cologne, where she had competed in the German
national league, she moved to Germany with her husband Bakhodir
Kurpanov, a former successful wrestler, and their son.
In Cologne, Chusovitina was able to train with the German team and
seek medical attention for Alisher. She competed like mad in the
years that followed, using her prize money to cover medical bills.
Claiming German citizenship in 2006 allowed the gymnast and her
family to stay in Germany for Alisher's follow-up examinations --
and it allowed her to strive for a fifth Games. Chusovitina hadn't
abandoned her hopes for an individual.
Ready for London in 2012
And Sunday's silver shows that, in a sport dominated by teenage
prodigies, she has only improved with age.
"I don't feel 33, I feel 18," said Chusovitina. "This medal is for
my son. I can't say how happy I am."
And she's not thinking about retirement. Instead, she's got the
2012 London Games on her mind.
"By then I'll be 37; if I can I'll do a sixth Olympics," she said.
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Beijing may not be her last Olympic Games
(Deutsche Welle)
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