Oksana Chusovitina talked to AiF about her career, her son’s past illness, and how gymnastics helped her get through the dark times. She is still nostalgic about her first Olympics in 1992:
A: We were just kids then. We didn’t quite realize what was going on. The country was crumbling but we kept training. And then boom, we suddenly understood – we wouldn’t compete together anymore. That was so upsetting! That team was the closest, the strongest. We still meet up and reminisce about it.
Q: How did you start doing gymnastics?
A: I just got expelled from the kindergarten. I don’t remember what I did but my mom was told: “Take your daughter and her documents”. She was a cook, my father worked in construction, no one could stay with me at home. So, my brother who was doing gymnastics, started taking me to the gym. And I liked it so much! I was doing rings, I competed with the boys for a year. And then suddenly I was told: “Oksana, you need to go there, on beam, with the girls”. I refused. You see, there were four kids in our family, I was the youngest, no one ever said no to me. And here a woman comes and says that I need to leave the boys’ group.
Q: And how did you end up in the German club?
A: Germany has a developed system of club gymnastics competitions. We have nothing like that. So, a club is allowed to bring one foreign gymnast. They bring people who are strong in the all-around. I got an offer and accepted. I wasn’t supposed to live in Germany, I would fly in, compete, and fly out… And when all this happened to Alisher, I moved there in order to be with my son.
Q: You said that the whole hospital [in Uzbekistan] where your son ended up had only one catheter…
A: Uzbekistan just didn’t have pediatric oncology. There weren’t enough drugs or doctors – many left after the USSR’s break-up. People I knew helped us find a clinic in Germany but the cost of the treatment turned out to be 120,000 euros. Where could we get that? 5,000 euros was all we got after selling our four-room apartment in Tashkent. If the Cologne club I was competing for didn’t sign for our loan with us, I don’t know [what we would do]…
Q: Alisher was staying at the German clinic while you continued training and competing. Was it because of money?
A: Gymnastics isn’t the kind of sport where you can earn 120,000 euros. It’s not tennis. The prize money for the gold medal at a World Cup is 600 euros. Calculate how many cups I’d need to win. I just needed to be in the gym, to do the physical training. That way, my mind was distracted from the things I wasn’t used to. You go through the clinic’s door and see kids with IVs, moms with tearful eyes, everyone waiting for the test results… We spent two years there. If I stayed in the clinic 24/7, I’d probably go crazy. No, I wasn’t always able to distract myself in the gym. When something’s wrong with your son’s tests, you can’t, it doesn’t switch off. During those moments, my coach wouldn’t let me train, she realized that I could easily get injured in such a mental state. So, I would just stretch and talk to the girls in order to get distracted somehow. I would come back to the hospital with a different mindset. It’s very important. Children shouldn’t see their parents in a state of despair. I swear I did not let myself think even for a second that Alisher could die. Inside, I was sure that everything would be fine, we just needed to wait. I didn’t go online, didn’t read any kind of advice. It’s only harmful. I just trusted the specialists with my son and did everything they told me unquestioningly.
Q: Not everyone took your moving abroad well back in Uzbekistan. There were some who said: “Chusovitina just wants to move abroad and is using her son’s illness as an excuse”.
A: I forgave everyone already, especially since some are not among the living anymore… There are many more good people in the world than bad people! For instance, my husband’s acquaintance gave us his yield – a train car full of grain. He said: “I don’t have money, but here’s what I grew, you can sell it, you need it more”. A girl from America sent a letter, there were a five-dollar bill and a note in the envelope: “I was saving for a doll. But I’d better give this money to Alisher so he won’t be sick.” Another girl knitted a blanket for Alisher: “If he will be covered with it, he’ll be warm and get well soon”. It’s the parents who taught them to be kind. That means the parents are kind as well. And how many athletes responded! I’m grateful to the sport for giving me such friends. I’ll never get tired of saying thank you. After all, for the first two years, we got by thanks to the money people donated. Later, we were able to get German citizenship that gave health insurance and, as a result, free medical care. But before that… I remember that day well when I was sitting there not knowing with what money to buy Alisher a new round of drugs. Suddenly, a Japanese TV channel called: “We want to film a story about you, we’ll pay you $2500”. They even got surprised with my “Come right away” response… God can hear us, after all. When the health insurance finally kicked in, there was still some money left at the bank account where people sent donations. We were offered to save it for Alisher but refused. We left it to the hospital and wrote a request that if anyone would be in the same situation as me, when they wouldn’t have money to buy drugs for their kid, they could use that account.
Q: Did the Germans expect you to win an Olympic medal when they gave you citizenship?
A: I don’t think so. No one ever told me “You have to compete for us”. On the contrary, they said “If you won’t be able to, no one will judge you”.
Q: At what point did you start wanting to go back home?
A: I had always thought about it. If my son had not gotten sick, I would have never left Uzbekistan. I think I could return in 2008, after the Olympics. But I didn’t want to risk it, we kept doing tests for another five years to watch out for a recurrence. And as soon as it ended, I came to them and asked: “Can I go home”. Everyone understood any let me go without reproach.
Q: You not only started competing for the Uzbekistan’s team but also started coaching it. Then you suddenly stopped being a coach. Why?
A: How it happened… I tore ligaments and had shoulder surgery. For some time, I couldn’t compete and had a thought – why not try to coach? It wasn’t hard. On the contrary, I understood the gymnasts easily, I knew how to talk to them. The girls loved and respected me. But then I felt strong again and decided to keep competing. But it’s impossible to compete and coach at the same time.
Q: You say that for a long time you’ve been competing with yourself and not with others. What’s the hardest part about competing with yourself?
A: To calm yourself down. People ask me: “Do you still get nervous?” Of course, I do. But if that went away, I’d stop going out on the competition floor. That’s because you have to have adrenaline, you can’t [compete] without it.
Q: How many more Olympic Games can you go to?
A: I can say for sure that the Tokyo Olympics are my last one. I won’t be competing after that.
Q: You said something similar before London.
A: And then, like Pugacheva – said goodbye, came back, said goodbye, came back. (laughs) No, honestly. I promised my husband and son. They’re worried about me.
Support Gymnovosti on Patreon from only $1 a month and help us bring to you even more awesome gymnastics coverage!
Buy cool gymnastics-themed t-shirts, hoodies, pillows, phone cases, and more at our store on Teepublic!
