In the 29th year, 8 Olympic Games, from the medal, to the son, and then to himself, the persistence of this legendary gymnast really carried the banner that symbolized the Olympic spirit.
| Author: Chen Rongwei Mei Ke
| Editor: Curry
Running, jumping, turning, landing... Chusovkina completed the final jump, but still made a mistake when she landed on the ground like the previous jump. Still, there was a loud applause and cheers at the Tokyo Olympics, paying tribute to the 46-year-old "senior" athlete.
On July 25, Uzbekistan gymnastics veteran Chusovkina, whose face was covered with wrinkles, took to the gymnastics qualifiers. Many hope that the "mother" athlete will continue to write a world sports legend – a full 29 years after her first appearance at the Summer Olympics.
29 years is long enough, so long that the original opponent has long become a coach, and the opponent who is long enough today is almost his next generation.
He became a world champion at the age of 16, won an Olympic gold medal at the age of 17, retired at the age of 21, competed as a son at the age of 27, and there are three movements named after him in the International Gymnastics Federation...
For 29 years, gymnastics has been in the blood of Chusovkina, who has worn three different suits (CIS delegation, Germany and Uzbekistan) to the Olympic Games, becoming a legend like no other in history.
However, when the big screen hit Chusovkina's instant ranking "11", all the glory became a thing of the past.
This result was not enough to get her to the final. Chusovykina turned and walked toward the coach, buried in the crook of his broad arms, tears rushing out. It was her last jump to the world and the closing of her career.
Young gymnasts from all over the world flocked to take photos with Chusovkina. People at the scene of the competition also stood up and applauded. The applause lingered under the dome of the gymnastics gym for a long time. Chusovkina dried her tears, put her hands on the camera, and sent a flying kiss.
Nearly 30 years of "ultra-long standby"
Chusovkina has said she plans to retire after the 2020 Olympics. She jokingly said that after being a gymnast for so long, she was lucky enough to wake up in the morning to see the rising sun every day.
The news of the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics has not disrupted the veteran's training plans. Instead, the extra time allowed her to adjust better.
Take a deep breath, run, take off, spin, and with a "bang" – the sound of Chusovykina's feet landing on the ground resounded throughout the venue. Immediately after, she crawled out of the soft foam pit and repeated the series of actions she had just made. At the training hall in Houston, USA, Chusovkina practiced over and over again for the game.
Kisovikina in training.
The same action also appeared at the Rio Olympics 5 years ago, when Chusovykina missed the medal due to excessive rotation during the vault, but that didn't stop her from trying again.
Chusovykina was born in 1975 in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. At the age of 7, she was sent to gymnastics school by her family and joined the Soviet national team six years later.
1991 was an important year for Chusovykina. That year, at the age of 16, she came to Indianapolis, USA, to participate in the Women's Gymnastics World Championships, and won her first world championship with the "straight body late rotation" movement.
Chusovkina's boyhood.
On the night of July 25, 1992, at the Montjuïc Stadium, two-time Paralympic archery medalist Anthony Ribek lit an arrow with a torch and accurately shot it to the sacred fire platform 70 meters away, kicking off the Barcelona Olympic Games.
Chusovkina's gymnastics career, like the arrow that pierced the heavens, entered a period of fierce and rapid explosion.
At the Barcelona Olympics, 17-year-old Chusovkina won the women's team gold medal for the CIS. Although she was later affected by the collapse of the Soviet Union, training conditions and resources were much worse than before, but she still won two world championships women's vault bronze medals, and won a silver and a bronze at the 1994 Asian Games.
In 1996, at the age of 21, Chusovykina represented post-independence Uzbekistan at the Atlanta Olympics. Faced with the challenge of young players, she won the tenth place in the individual all-around for her country.
After the Olympics, Chusovkina experienced a torn Achilles tendon and had to choose to retire and say goodbye to sports. Subsequently, she married the wrestler Kpanov and in 1999 gave birth to a lovely boy, named Arish.
Chusovkina's son Arish.
Although married and had children, Chusovkina could not let go of her love of gymnastics.
"I really decided at the time that I was going to end my gymnastics career. But then I went to the familiar sports field to take a look, and I wanted to recover quickly after giving birth and return to the field. ”
The golden age of female gymnasts is generally 16 to 20 years old, and with age, physical decline and limb stiffness will become the biggest obstacle for athletes to maintain their status. In 2000, Chusovkina, who re-dressed in her battle robes and entered the Sydney Olympic Games, was 25 years old.
Age did not become a constraint on Chusovkina, she ran on the field, jumped, spun and competed in five events in one go.
"Who's going to help a former world champion?"
Just as Chusovkina's career was in its second year, her life was hit head-on: her son Arish was diagnosed with leukemia.
"The news was so terrible, I felt helpless, I froze, I couldn't believe what they said." The cost of treatment of up to 120,000 euros (1 euro is about 7.6 yuan) has left the family, which is not rich, helpless.
Chusovkina cannot retire, after all, a world championship gold medal equals 3,000 euros. She knew that the only hope of saving her son's life was the arena.
"If I retire, I'll sit at the edge of my hospital bed and watch my son die... Who will help a former world champion? ”
This year, Chusovykina was 27 years old. For her son, she competes for medals with younger players. Others fought for honor, but she was fighting for her son's life.
In order to get as many medals as possible and get more prize money, Chusovkina competes frequently, and is no longer limited to her own vaulting, but also participates in other sports such as free gymnastics, uneven bars and balance beams. For the sake of her son Arish, she wants to be more "all-powerful".
"I decided at the time that I was going to participate in every competition I could, just to raise money for my son's treatment. I don't care if these races are difficult, I just know that when I get injured, I have to get up and go to other races. ”
However, for Chusovykina, whose physical flexibility and physical strength are declining, each training session is a double physical and psychological torture. But she did not dare to get sick, did not dare to be injured, did not dare to rest, did not dare to suspend the game, and taking the prize for money to save her son became everything in Chusovkina's life.
In 2003, Chusovkina won the World Championships vaulting again, but her longing for rewards was dashed and Uzbekistan did not deliver on its earlier promises.
At that time, Uzbekistan promised to give the Asian Games champion prize money, a gold medal reward of 5,000 US dollars (1 US dollar is about 6.4 yuan). I won two gold and silver medals at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, and I can say that I can get at least $10,000. But I didn't get a penny. At the 2003 World Championships, I won another gold medal, but there was still no prize money. Remember, before that, Uzbekistan had never had an athlete win a gold medal at the World Championships. ”
On the other hand, Arish's condition gradually deteriorated and he urgently needed dialysis treatment. But medical conditions in Uzbekistan are limited, even dialysis machines are only a few, and patients to be treated are lined up.
Chusovykina and son Arish.
She had to appeal to her former Club in Cologne, Germany, and the two coaches quickly reached out, mobilized the Generosity of the German gymnastics community, and contacted the hospital for Arish, who was admitted to the hospital in time.
After settling her son in Cologne, Chusovkina returned to training, "I have to race and earn money for his treatment." The German gymnastics team provided her with the corresponding training resources, which allowed Chusovkina to continue to play for the country while maintaining a good competitive state.
In 2004, Chusovkina, who was on a trip back and forth between hospitals and training halls, boarded the Athens Olympics, but unexpectedly missed in the preliminaries. After the scene, people could not see The expression of Chusovkina, only that she was leaning in the corner of the wall for a long time.
After training in Germany for three years, in 2006, in order to repay the help of her German friends and to better take care of her son, Chusovkina decided to naturalize in Germany and represent Germany in international competitions.
This move was strongly reacted by Uzbekistan, and public opinion accused Chusovykina of "treason". But for the sake of her son, Chusovkina can only do so.
Khusovkina represented Germany at the Beijing Olympics.
Dressed in a German robe, Chusovkina won one gold medal and two bronze medals in the following years. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 33-year-old Chusovkina finished second in the vault.
Just then, the good news came, and the doctor told Chusovykina that Arish's illness was basically cured.
"I can't describe my happiness, my son is healed, my life is full of joy every day, and when I stand on the field, I feel like I'm still 18 years old."
But new blows followed, with Chusovkina landing unsteadily and her Achilles tendon rupturing in a match after winning the silver in Beijing. This serious injury, which was enough to ruin her career, was fatal for the 33-year-old Chusovkina.
"At that time, I was very desperate and sad, thinking that I would never be able to participate in the competition again to bring honor to my motherland."
Just when the outside world lamented the curtain of this great athlete, Chusovkina once again shocked the world. In 2011, after a year of recuperation, Chusovkina won the second place in the women's vault at the World Gymnastics Championships in Japan. A year later, at the age of 37, she made her sixth Olympic appearance, finishing fifth in the women's vaulting competition.
No one knows how much energy is contained in this petite body of 1 meter 53.
By this time, Arish had recovered, and there was speculation that London would be her Olympic masterpiece. But Chusovkina replied: "What is the difference between 37 and 41?" There are no limits here. As long as I like it, I will always stick to it. ”
"Now, I'm fighting for myself"
"When I was young, I trained, I competed, only to pursue results; when my son was sick, I had to play to earn money to treat my son. But now, I can finally enjoy the game as a pleasure and have a huge amount of fun, and I now race for myself. ”
After honor and loved ones, Chusovkina is going to fight for herself.
In 2014, when Chusovykina attended the Incheon Asian Games, people were surprised to find that she was wearing uzbekistan uniforms.
"When I end my career, I'm going to go back to the starting point." In 2013, Chusovkina applied to return to Uzbekistan. Three years later, she wore the crescent flag again and made her seventh Olympic appearance in the Women's Vault, becoming the first athlete in gymnastics to compete in seven consecutive Olympic Games.
At the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Chusovkina won the silver medal in vaulting, while the champion, South Korea's Lu Ruizheng, was a full 27 years younger than her. Chusovkina became the "Qiu Ma" in the mouths of the girls competing on the same stage.
From left, they are: Chusovy Jinna, Lu Ruizheng, Ping Yarong.
A reporter once asked her how she looked at competing with young players, and she shrugged, "I shouldn't be afraid of them, and in turn they should be afraid of me." Because I have a lot of experience. ”
Chusovkina does not see age as an obstacle. She takes "grasp the present and don't let tomorrow's self regret" as her motto. "I think everyone should love their careers and put their heart and soul into being successful, and sometimes failure is exactly what drives me back on the field. Everyone should set a goal for themselves and then desperately move towards that goal. ”
After Rio, many people asked Chusovkina if she would compete in the next Tokyo Olympics. People are curious at what moment the "immortal legend" will choose to stop his Olympic journey. Chusovykina answered the question in her own way: "If sport can bring me joy, I will continue to bring honor to my country, Uzbekistan." ”
At the East Olympic Games, she painted ten fingers with blue, white and green nail polish representing the flag of Uzbekistan, and wore shiny stud earrings on her ears, which ended with applause and cheers. As in London and Rio' Olympic games, even though Chusovykina was ultimately unable to delist, she still carried the flag that symbolized the Olympic spirit and won the applause of the world.