Oksana Chusovitina | |
---|---|
Оксана Чусовитина | |
Personal information | |
Full name | Oksana Aleksandrovna Chusovitina |
Country represented | Uzbekistan |
Former countries represented | Germany (2006–2012) Uzbekistan (1993–2006) Unified Team (1992) CIS (1992) Soviet Union (until 1991) |
Born | Bukhara, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union | 19 June 1975
Height | 1.53 m (5 ft 0 in) |
Discipline | Women's artistic gymnastics |
Level | Senior international |
Years on national team | (URS) 1988–1992 (UZB) 1993–2005 (GER) 2006–2012 (UZB) 2013–present |
Club | Turnteam Toyota Köln |
Head coach(es) | Svetlana Boguinskaya (personal) Shanna Polyakova |
Former coach(es) | Svetlana Kuznetsova |
Music | Phantom of the Opera (1996–2000) The Godfather Theme (2007) Pirates of the Caribbean (2006 & 2008) |
Eponymous skills | Hop-full pirouette, full out dismount (uneven bars); layout-full out (floor exercise) |
World ranking | Vault: 1 (2016)[1] (see archives) |
Medal record |
Oksana Aleksandrovna Chusovitina (Russian: Оксана Александровна Чусовитина; born 19 June 1975) is an Uzbek artistic gymnast.
Chusovitina's career as an elite gymnast has spanned more than three decades. She won the USSR Junior Nationals in 1988 and began competing at the international level in 1989 before many of her current rivals were even born. She is the only gymnast ever to compete in eight Olympic Games, and is one of only two female gymnasts to compete at the Olympics under three different national teams: the Unified Team in 1992; Uzbekistan in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2016 and 2020; and Germany in 2008 and 2012. She is one of the 18 Olympians and 6 female Olympians to participate in 8 different Olympics. Chusovitina's longevity and consistency as an elite gymnast is exceptionally unusual; the skillset and wear and tear typical of the sport mean elite female gymnasts have often retired in their early twenties and a gymnast in her late twenties would be considered a seasoned veteran.
Chusovitina has also competed in 16 World Championships, four Asian Games, and three Goodwill Games. Chusovitina holds the record for the most individual world championship medals in a single event (nine, on the vault). Chusovitina is one of the few female gymnasts to return to international competitions after becoming a mother. In 2017, she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.[2]