Veteran Oksana Chusovitina ended her legendary career on Sunday night after competing at a record eighth Olympic Games. After failing to secure a spot in Sunday's vault final, the 46-year-old, representing Uzbekistan, waved to the small crowd inside Tokyo's Ariake Gymnastics Center, made a heart shape with her hands and briefly cried.
Born in Uzbek capital Tashkent in 1976, Chusovitina took up gymnastics at age 7, following her older brother into the sport. "My mother did not want me to do gymnastics, she was worried about me all the time. I wanted to prove to her that I was not doing it in vain, and I think I eventually succeeded in that," Chusovitina once said of her childhood.
She made her Olympic debut (首次亮相) at the 1992 Barcelona Games as part of the gold medal-winning Unified team, comprised of (由……组成) athletes from former Soviet states.
She then represented Uzbekistan, before being granted German citizenship in 2006. She took home a vault silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Games for Germany, but switched back to competing for Uzbekistan in 2013. Chusovitina is one of just two female gymnasts to represent three different nations at the Olympic Games.
When Chusovitina's 3-year-old son was diagnosed with leukemia in 2002, she sold her possessions and used any prize money she earned to pay for his medical treatment. Her switch to German citizenship was motivated by the promise of a higher income and better medical care.
After her son's recovery, Chusovitina continued to compete, but this time it was her love of gymnastics that kept her going. "There is no secret. I just love gymnastics and no one ever forced me to compete. I do so with pleasure," she said.
With COVID-19 rules keeping fans out of the venue, Chusovitina admitted the atmosphere wasn't what she had hoped. "I would have loved to have spectators, she said. "Of course in terms of performance, it's better when it's just you and the apparatus (器具). But every athlete needs this attention and applause. "
"Maybe Fil skip Paris (2024 Games), and go to Los Angeles (2028 Games) for the applause," she joked. At last, she told reporters, "My son is 22 years old and I want to spend time with him. I want to be a mom."
