Oksana Chusovitina gave an interview to Sport Express in October, when she came to Moscow to perform at Nemov Show.
Q: You qualified to the Olympics at the past World Championships. Was that the only stage of qualification?
A: There wasn’t a continental qualification or anything like that. Uzbekistan doesn’t have that many senior gymnasts. So, all three of us were gathered and sent there. And at the Olympics, I placed high enough in the all-around which gave me a spot at the Olympics.
Q: What were you feeling when you realized you made it? Did it feel mundane? It’ll be your eight Olympics after all.
A: Of course not. I had a bad aftertaste because I didn’t make the final due to a mistake on my second vault. In order to qualify to the Olympics, I needed to do all-around and I’m happy I got a high enough score. It’s always like that – when everything goes well, something else will go bad, and the other way around. Here, it was kind of a middle ground.
Q: How does your regular day look? Do you train a lot?
A: I have one practice a day, from 11 pm to 2 pm, and I’m free in the afternoon. I can spend that time on my family, husband, hobby, going to a cafe with my friends. For example, I like riding horses. I also have two dogs, they need walking and playing with them. I go to the movies and I always read reviews in advance. I haven’t seen Joker yet, I’ll need to read about it. That is, I have the life of a completely free person.
Q: You just also qualify to the Olympics sometimes.
A: That’s why I go to the gym. But I only do the required amount of work, nothing more. It’s a pity this understanding comes with age – that you’re doing what you need and doing it for yourself, not for someone else.
Q: You mentioned horses. Maybe, you can switch to equestrian sports after gymnastics? Then, you can go to another three Olympics for sure.
A: It also requires training. I’m thinking about something else – I’ll switch to curling! What, we have an ice sports arena! Anything can happen. Recently, in this arena, I opened a match of the Supreme Hockey League where Humo played, and the club started winning. Now they are offering me to become their mascot.
Q: Going back to your schedule – a 20-year-old gymnast would likely not be able to stay competitive with such a schedule, right?
A: It’s hard to say. The thing is that at that age, many are still learning new elements and they have the all-around. My three hours of training would simply not be enough. But I’m training two events and do all-around only at the pre-Olympic World Championships.
Q: Is recovery getting harder with age? Do you have to do more physical therapy?
A: I have no problems with that. For example, I never did massage, maybe, I’d go a few times a year. I don’t like getting massages. I’m for going to sauna and swimming, that’s the best recovery. And if you go to the gym every day, you get to such shape that you feel great.
Q: You’re saying this as if you competing is nothing special. But most retire at 20.
A: You need to ask them why they retire. It all depends on desire. If there’s no desire – there’s no way to force someone. I have that desire.
Q: Were there any alternatives to the sport?
A: To quit? No, I’ve never thought about it. Although, as a kid, I dreamt about becoming a veterinary doctor. But, turned out, it’s not for me at all.
Q: You competed for USSR, CIS, Germany, and now Uzbekistan. Do you think of the times at the beginning of your career? Was it harder then? Shortages?
A: Of course, there were shortages. We were a regular working-class family, mom was a cook, dad was a construction worker, four kids. When stretchy pants just appeared, I begged my mom to buy them. She asked: “How much?” I said: “Well, 15 rubles”. Her: “Have you gone crazy? I’ll knit them for you”. And so I had knitted pants, trained in them. Of course, they weren’t stretchy at all. Nowadays, everything’s available. And I think current gymnasts lost this feeling, they don’t take care of what they have. We treat all the clothes respectfully even now. If that’s a new leo, for example. And when we were given the uniforms with the letters “USSR” or “Russia” that was so cool. But for the modern generation, this is routine.
Q: Nowadays, in Russian, being nostalgic about USSR is popular. You lived in that country. What do you feel about that era?
A: I’ve never tried to get into politics and, honestly, have always been against such a phenomenon as athletes-politics. What’s the point of going into that if you don’t understand anything? You can help the sport in other ways. So, my answer to your questions is that each time is great in its own way. I don’t want to look silly and say “Back in our times!” Our time is not, we’re moving forward, no need to live in the past, it’s water under the bridge.
Q: So, it’s harder to decide when your life was more comfortable – back there at 15 or here at 40?
A: It’s was good then as well. We were kids, everything was done for us. And now… it’s even better.
Q: Is it possible to earn a living in artistic gymnastics? Sorry, it’s just I can’t quite figure out how gymnasts earn a living if they’re not Simone Biles. You don’t have another job, right?
A: But I have a husband. (laughs) Of course, the federation pays me a salary. I guess that money is incomparable to football but it is enough for a simple life in Tashkent. In Germany and the US, kids don’t get anything. If an American gymnast won prize money, she gives it all to the federation, otherwise, she’ll lose college scholarship eligibility. There are caveats everywhere.
Q: But there are shows as well. Do you get paid for them?
A: Yes, and for the Nemov show as well. But, of course, I don’t come here because of the money. If Lyosha Nemov called ma and said: “Come tomorrow, we really need you”, I’d come without thinking, of course. And Yordan would, too.
Q: Can gymnastics become profitable someday? Become a show like football or wrestling?
A: It would be very hard. We don’t have one-on-one competitions, there are many events in one day. We need sponsors who would love gymnastics as much as we do. They’re definitely out somewhere, we’ve been looking for them for a long time.
Q: At the last World Championships, Russia had great success, they finally beat China. How did it happen?
A: You have a very close team. And a strong one, obviously. And your boys go out and do their routines confidently, without shaking. The Chinese, as it has been seen more than once, start shaking when there’s a fight for one hundredth.
Q: Is it the same on the US women’s team?
A: They had a lot of mistakes at these Worlds, I’ve never seen this.
Q: So, that means our girls can beat them in Tokyo?
A: If they will go out without stress and with self-confidence, they can.
Q: Are there ways to overcome this stress?
A: It’s different for everyone. When we competed in 1990s, we didn’t shake. That was because we did so many repetitions in practice – the thought of falling wasn’t even present in my mind.
Q: Have you ever turned to psychologists?
A: They turned to us. You know, I’m actually against this phenomenon – st down and tell a stranger about yourself. Once, thanks to the new trends in Uzbekistan, they decided to try and have a psychologist on the team. I’m sitting down… and saying: “Why do I have to tell you about my life? I don’t know you, why would I trust you?” Not even talking about the fact that I was older than her. I’m my own psychologist with my own experience. But that’s the truth.
Q: There is a lot of criticism of Simone Biles in Russia, particularly of her therapeutic use exemptions with which she’s fighting attention deficit disorder. Is there any reason for the outcry?
A: There’s no reason to criticize here. Simone had a very hard childhood, she did a great job achieving so much through her own work. She was in an orphanage, her mother was a drug and alcohol addict. She was adopted by her grandma and grandpa. Yes, they’re rich people, but still. She’s still learning those elements, doing them, spending eight hours a day in the gym. It’s not as if she came, took a pill, and that’s it – five medals at the World Championships. I always say: “Imagine what would happen if she didn’t take those drugs – what mess she could’ve made.” It’s better if she takes them. She’s a well-mannered girl and the victories didn’t get in her head – she always greets me.
Q: Can she be called the greatest gymnast in history?
A: I think so.
Q: Do you get any special treatment among the gymnasts? Do they call you by your name and patronym?*
A: There’s no special treatment. Unfortunately. (laughs)
Q: Are you hinting at judging?
A: Yes. But that’s a joke, of course. All are equal on the competition floor. I’m already supported by colleagues and fans. Why would judges give me higher scores? Then don’t compete at 44. If you don’t like it – leave. And if you do like it – compete with everyone on equal footing. Which what I’ll continue doing.
In many ex-USSR countries, legal names include patronyms that mean “son of” or “daughter of”. For example, Chusovitina’s full name is “Oksana Aleksandrovna Chusovitina”, where “Aleksandrovna” means “daughter of Aleksandr”. According to Russian conventions of politeness, people are called by their name and patronym in formal situations or when their interlocutors are significantly younger than them.
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