Chusovitina retired from her legendary career after competing at a record eighth Olympic Games. After failing to 1 a spot in Sunday's vault final, the 46-year-old, representing Uzbekistan, waved goodbye to the small 2 .
Born in Uzbek capital Tashkent in 1976, Chusovitina 3 gymnastics at age 7. She made her first Olympic 4 at the 1992 Barcelona Games. She then 5 Uzbekistan, later competed for German, but 6 back to Uzbekistan in 2013.
When Chusovitina's 3 - year - old son was 7 with leukemia in 2002, she sold her 8 and used any prize money earned to pay for his medical 9 . Her switch to German 10 was motivated by the promise of a higher income and better 11 care. After her son's recovery, Chusovitina continued to compete, but this time it was her love of 12 that kept her going. "There is no 13 . I just love gymnastics and no one ever 14 me to compete. I do so with 15 ," she said.
In a sport renowned for its 16 champions, Chusovitina has become a global fan 17 thanks to her persistence. She was selected into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, and was 18 the Best Athlete of the Decade （2011-2020） in a public vote. She has 19 11 medals at major global championships and has five eponymous（以主角/创作者命名的） gymnastics 20 to her name. She's a legendary athlete, a great mother.
