Oksana Chusovitina is 41-year-old and shows absolutely no signs of slowing down. An anomaly in the deadly competitive sport of gymnastics, where a 22-year-old American gymnast is jokingly nicknamed “Grandma,” Chusovitina is the mother of a 17-year-old. For all the die-hard fans of the gymnast, Googling terms like “Oksana Chusovitina age,” “How old is Oksana Chusovitina?” “Uzbekistan gymnast,” “Oksana Chusovitina Rio 2016,” and “41-year-old gymnast,” don’t go anywhere else because we’ll tell you everything you want to know about the athlete.
In a world where the usual lifespan of an Olympian gymnast is one or two Olympics—maximum three—Chusovitina has broken all the rules and competed at seven Olympics! She’s not just showing up either; she’s winning as well. Chusovitina won the silver for her specialty at the Beijing Olympics, and before that, she earned a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics. She placed second at this year’s qualifying test for the Rio Olypics, and now she has a chance to make the finals again. Chusovitina first competed at the Olympics in 1992 and has come a long way since then, both personally and professionally.
How Does She Do It?
Chusovitina stated, “Well, when I compete on the podium, if they gave a few more marks for the age, it would have been great. Otherwise, well, we’re all equal and we just have to compete against each other as equals.”
In 2002, her son Alisher was diagnosed with leukemia, and after Germany offered him treatment, she began representing Germany in a show of gratitude for saving her son’s life. Chusovitina said, “I really love the sport. I love to give pleasure to the public. I love to come out and perform for the public and for the fans.” However, after winning a medal at Beijing, she resumed representing her own country, Uzbekistan.
When her son asked her how long she will keep competing, Chusovitina slyly replied, “Wait and see, honey.” At the London Olympics in 2012, she released a statement announcing that London would be her last Olympic stint, but she had a change of heart. Her justification was, “I’m woman.” She smiled and said, “I felt that I could do more. I’m alive, I’m well. That means everything’s okay.” Well, who can argue with that excellent logic?
