Anyone who pays attention to gymnastics should have heard her name. Born in 1975 in the Uzbekni city of Bukhara, this woman's life is undoubtedly legendary. She is an athlete who has spent her life in the Olympic arena constantly improving herself and constantly pushing the limits; a great mother who uses perseverance and ability to compete with time, a miracle in the field of data sports. At the age of 45, she still competes in the Olympic arena.
She was—Chusovkina.
She is not only the athlete with the most Olympic participations in the world (8 years, confirmed to participate in the 8th Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020), but also the person who has participated in the Olympic Games for the longest time (32 years) and the person who represents the most participating countries (she has changed her nationality several times, representing the former Soviet Union, the CIS, Uzbekistan, Germany, and later Uzbekistan). In addition, she has achieved great success in gymnastics competitions: in the International Gymnastics Federation, there are two high and low bars, and a free gymnastics with a total of three movements named after her, which are also a full symbol of her strength.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > young world vaulting champion</h1>
George Bernard Shaw once said that "the so-called genius refers to the person with perseverance, the person who is diligent, the person who is fascinated, and the person who forgets himself."
Undoubtedly, Chusovkina, who started the international competition winning mode at the age of 13, is a genius in the gymnastics world, and as a champion, she was not originally optimistic.
In 1982, at the age of 7, Sovikina Began practicing gymnastics. The best age for gymnastics initiation is 4-6 years old, and as a professional gymnast, starting training at the age of 7 is not the best age.
Although not optimistic, but with a tenacity not to accept defeat, but also innate talent, Xiaoqiu Sovikina training day after day: the basic skills explained by the coach she is all serious and increased, never lazy; every action, every turn, she practices repeatedly, and constantly adds her own thinking and thinking. These seemingly tedious basic training and "naïve" thinking that have not yet taken shape have sown a small seed for the protection of the athletes' own bodies and the innovation of gymnastics movements in the future years of conquest.
It is said that Heaven will not fail any diligent person. At the age of 13, Sovikina Kochu won the first title of her career, the women's all-around title in the junior category of the Former Soviet Championships.
In 1990, at the age of 15, she became a member of the former Soviet team;
In 1991, she won two gold medals in the women's team and free gymnastics at the World Championships, and won another silver medal in the vaulting competition;
In 1992, Chusovkina represented the CIS at the Barcelona Olympics, where she won a team gold medal and a seventh place in free gymnastics. It was also the only Olympic gold medal in Chusovkina's career;
1993 Birmingham World Gymnastics Championships, bronze vault
At the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima, he won bronze medals in both vaulting and uneven bars;
At the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, she finished tenth in the individual all-around.
After the Atlanta Olympics, 21-year-old Chusovykina chose to retire, intending to marry and have children with her long-acquainted boyfriend, Bakder, a wrestler who represented Uzbekistan in the Olympic Games.
In 1999, Chusovkina's eldest son, Arish, was born, much to the delight of the family. Chusovkina once described it as the happiest and carefree time of her life, her husband was very fond of her, her son was cute and lively, and the family was happy and harmonious, without any troubles.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > to save his son, the famous general risked a comeback at an advanced age</h1>
But fate always seems to love to joke with people who are immersed in happiness. In 2002, Arish was diagnosed with leukemia. These three simple words have knocked this ordinary happy family into the bottom of despair. The day they knew about the illness, for them as parents, experienced a hopeless despair that was even more helpless than Ling Chi.
Chusovykina and eldest son
After a brief period of grief, the couple realized they had to calm down immediately and discuss treatment with the doctor as soon as possible. Doctors told them that they would do everything they could to save Arish's life, but that treating leukemia and later transplanting hematopoietic stem cells would be costly. This is really difficult for the couple who rely on being coaches and leading training classes as the main source of income for their families after retiring.
During that time, the couple went around raising money for treatment, and constantly pondered what other ways to make money: "What else can we do?" What are the earning capabilities? After much self-questioning and reflection, Chusovykina wanted to understand that the most competitive and fastest skill she could raise money with was gymnastics!
So the gymnast, at this age that is already considered "advanced" in gymnastics, risked being injured at any time and chose to return to the competition. She deeply understands that she is at a disadvantage compared to teenagers in terms of age, physical toughness and function, but in order to save her children's lives, she must return to the field. Because "one World Championship gold medal equals 3,000 euros in prize money, this is the only way I can raise money for my child to see a doctor, I have no way out, I must win." Chusovkina said.
At the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, Chusovykina made a comeback at the age of 27 and won gold medals in vaulting and free gymnastics. At the age of 27, already the age of athlete retirement, the comeback of a women's gymnastics sport is a miracle in itself, not to mention to win the championship and win the gold medal, and Chusovkina's move has created a miracle and shaken the world.
After the comeback, all the motivation for Chusovkina's survival is to compete and earn money, and she does not hide the slightest concealment for the competition, and even in order to make more money, she develops in the direction of the all-round type, going everywhere to compete and make money. Because of the medical conditions in Uzbekistan, there was no way to save her son, Chusovkina's family moved to Germany, and the German gymnastics community sent them charcoal at this time, and her son Arish lived in a German hospital for two years, and his condition gradually improved.
In order to make more money, and also for the sake of zhi en Tu, Chusovkina decided to change her nationality to represent Germany. Beginning in 2006, Chusovykina reached an agreement with the German Gymnastics Association to officially represent the German team, and the Gymnastics Association was responsible for all of Arish's medical expenses.
As a result, the "elderly" "gymnastics mother" represented Germany in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and won the silver medal in vaulting, participated in the 2012 London Olympic Games and won the fifth vault, and achieved good results at both the World Championships and the European Championships.
She has repeatedly expressed her gratitude to Germany, saying that "even if I return to Uzbekistan, I am still full of gratitude for Germany, and without the help of German gymnastics people, my son would have died a long time ago."
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > Aiko stable and fights for the motherland for the dream</h1>
After the 2012 London Olympics, Chusovykina had planned to retire, but later changed her mind. She said she had an unfulfilled wish to win an Olympic medal for her country. In her career, she has won medals for both the CIS and Germany and is now fighting for the honours of her country.
So she returned to Uzbekistan with her son, whose condition was under control, and returned to uzbekistan. This time, she hopes to put aside the factors of the previous competition and simply fight for the motherland, for the dream and the Olympic spirit.
In the gymnastics vaulting final of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, the 41-year-old Chusovkina made a mistake when the first set of actions landed, did not stand firm, and scored 14.833 points at the end of the two sets of actions, ranking seventh in the competition and missing the medal.
In her previous career, Chusovkina won 1 gold and 1 silver at the Olympic Games, 3 gold, 4 silver and 4 bronze at the World Championships, 2 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze at the Asian Games, and 1 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze at the European Championships. After the Rio Olympics, Chusovkina became the only athlete in the women's gymnastics world to compete in seven Olympic Games.
During the Gymnastics World Championships, the 44-year-old Chusovkina has confirmed that she will participate in the Olympic Games for the eighth time and continue to compete for medals! By then, Chusovykina, who was born in June 1975, will be 45 years old when she arrives at the Tokyo Olympics, which is definitely an advanced age for female gymnasts, not only unprecedented, but also estimated that there will be no latecomers.
Romain Rolland once said: Maternal love is a huge flame.
Chusovkina burned her own energy, illuminated the future path of the child, and ignited her own talent, emitted brilliant brilliance, and constantly made breakthroughs in chasing her dreams and achieving personal goals. After fighting for her son, it was nice to see her free from restraints and approach her original dream without distraction. With a tenacious perseverance to resist time, she has been constantly breaking through the shackles of age on human beings.
Let's meet again at the Tokyo Olympics!