Oksana Chusovitina gave an interview to Argumenti.ru, in which she talked about why she still keeps going and how her mother’s disapproval was a big motivation for her.
Q: Oksana, let’s start from the beginning, from childhood. Why did you choose gymnastics?
A: When I was five years old, I was brought to figure skating but I didn’t pass the entrance test. After that failure, I went to kindergarten but was kicked out from there as well, because of poor behavior. Soon, my older brother started doing artistic gymnastics and I went with him to keep him company – my mom didn’t allow me to stay home alone. So, that’s how it was: sometimes, my sister took me with her somewhere, sometimes my brother took me to his practices. In the end, I trained in a boys’ group for a year and enjoyed it. Actually, I didn’t even think about switching to a girls’ team or tying my life to this sport, I was happy with how everything was. But when my brother’s training stopped, I was persuaded to switch to the girls’ team.
Q: How did you define success at the beginning of your athletic career?
A: Honestly, until the age of 12 I had no idea that Olympics, Worlds, and other events existed. I was training because I liked it and I wasn’t thinking about success then. However, when competing at the 1991 Worlds, I felt for the first time how much responsibility is placed on an athlete representing their country. We won gold in the team competition and I won gold on floor. At that moment, when I was standing on the medal podium and the anthem was playing, a special feeling started awakening in me. After all, six best athletes from the huge country were allowed to compete at such level and I was among them.
Q: Was it then that you realized gymnastics was your true calling?
A: Yes. But I had also been thinking about taking up horse riding because I like horses very much. Even now, whenever I have a spare moment, I ride horses. A long time ago I was told that I was too young for this sport and so I needed to wait until 13 or 14. But at that age, the preparation for the Olympics was in full steam and I became sure once again that gymnastics was my thing. Even though I still had some thoughts that, after retiring, I would try equestrian sports.
Q: In your career, there was a period when you competed for Germany. Our readers sometimes wonder why that happened.
A: I competed for Germany because my son was seriously ill. His treatment and the procedures needed to avoid a recurrence required an unbelievable sum of money – 120,000 euro. And this is not even counting tests, endless check-ups and so on. Gymnasts have never earned that much money. We don’t have such large prize funds like tennis or football. Talking to the minister of sports caused some problems for me: some people understood my situation, some were very much against it. But my husband and I made a decision and I flew to Germany. After discussing the situation with the German club, I got approval for cooperation and financial support. I’m extremely grateful to them because these people guaranteed to proved me help in case my family would not find the money. Perhaps, the fact that I was already an internationally famous gymnast played a role. At the time, we sold everything we owned in Tashkent in order to cover Alisher’s treatment at least partially. And then I got an offer from the German national team: if I agreed to compete for their country, the insurance would cover all the expenses. So, that’s how it happened that I competed for Germany for 8 years. And I never denied that I would be willing to do anything to save my child, just like any mother. But all this time, I nurtured the hope that my son would get better and we would come back home.
Q: Seems like the love of sports runs in your family. Your husband is a wrestler, you’re a gymnast, your son is an amateur basketball player.
A: My son really loves basketball but he tried all kinds of sports – gymnastics, acrobatics, trampoline. In Tashkent, he played bowling and football. But eventually, he chose basketball. I never told him what to do. He needs to find his own place in this life. For example, my mom has always been against me doing gymnastics.
Q: Even after you became a champion?
A: Yes. I know she is proud of me and celebrates my successes. But at the same time, she worries a lot – what if I get injured or lose the energy? And when I became a mom, I understood her well. Even now, I still hear from her: “Stop jumping, why do you keep jumping?” With time, I realized that if my mom forced me to train, I would resist. But her prohibitions and exhortations motivated me to train hard. I guess, when I was young, I wanted to prove to her that I could do it.
Q: Many athletes become politicians or commentators after retiring, for example, Svetlana Khorkina or Alina Kabaeva. have you ever wanted to retire and start doing something else? After all, competing in gymnastics is not an easy job.
A: I am doing everything I’m interested in while competing. I’m being invited to gym openings, I present awards to children, I give master classes, I do community outreach, I’m not just at the gym all the time. I think everything depends on what a person wants. If a person wants to develop, they can do it at any time, doesn’t matter whether they’re training or not. I definitely won’t become a politician, this is not for me. I want to develop children’s sports in Uzbekistan, specifically gymnastics, which, in my opinion, is the start for every other sport. It’s important for me to leave something after myself.
Q: After watching Uzbekistan’s WAG gymnasts at international competitions, I want to ask: do the girls that compete with you get higher scores just because of the respect for “the great Chusovitina”?
A: There are few young female gymnasts now because parents are afraid to put their daughters in gymnastics, they think the sport is injury-prone. But you can also fall on the street and break a leg, right? So, it’s not as scary as it seems. Answering your question, I’ll say that the young athletes that compete now get the scores they deserve. Of course, those are not as high as we’d like to but I think that you get what you earned.
Q: What do you feel when a young Chinese gymnast, light as a feather, competes alongside you? An inexperienced gymnast clearly would feel a bit out of place near Chusovitina.
A: On the competition floor, I never pay attention who stands where and how they behave. We go out and compete as equals, no matter whether at 16 years old or at 14. The judges score everyone equally. It’s the same here: if you did something, you get a score for it, if you didn’t – you lose. Sometimes, I know that I didn’t execute the vault quite well. People come up to me and exclaim: “You were unfairly judged!” I always reply to this: “No, that’s not true, today another competitor was stronger than me”.
Q: What makes you keep competing, don’t you get tired? After all, since starting your career in 1991, it seems like you never stopped.
A: I managed to win both Asian Games and European Championships. I’m not tired, I enjoy it. As soon as I get tired of it, I’ll turn around and leave, there’s no forcing here and can never be. But while I feel that I can do it, I’ll keep doing it.
Q: You’re a wife, a mother, and a competitive athlete. How do you manage to do it all, how do you divide chores at home?
A: My husband does everything to make me feel comfortable, no one overloads me with housework. When my son was little, my husband hired a nanny, his niece, who helped with the kid. When I’m at competitions, I don’t cook at home, my mom comes and cooks.
Q: When you competed in England, there was an interesting dialogue between the commentators during the broadcast on Match channel. After you and your coach were announced, one commentator said: “Why does this star need a coach?” Another replied: “Probably, the rules require it”. And the first one marveled: “Oksana should be the one to coach [her coach]”. Do you actually need a coach?
A: Any athlete, no matter the experience or medals, needs a coach. Yes, I know a lot, but, first, I don’t see myself when I’m training. Second, I need to be spotted sometimes. And third, when you go out to compete and see your coach in the corner of your eye, it’s mentally easier to compete.
Q: Do you plan on competing at the upcoming Olympic Games?
A: First, I need to get to the World Championships in Stuttgart and need to qualify to the final. So, the most important thing right now is training hard. If I succeed, I will go to my eighth Olympics.
Q: Do you feel like a star?
A: Sometimes, people recognize me. It’s nice but I’m shy. When people start introducing me at competitions, I want to hide under the table.
Q: You have probably experienced so many emotions after seven Olympics games. But you are still a shy and modest person.
A: There were all sorts of emotions. But there are many people outside the sport who are not connected to it in any way. Being a star is not needed here, you always need to stay human everywhere.
Q: Would you agree to move to another country if you were offered a head coaching job?
A: I was invited to move but I want to compete for Uzbekistan, this is my home. I used to compete for Germany, they did everything to make me feel comfortable but I flew there knowing that it was not my country. The first week I just kept crying, as if a part of me was torn away, but I knew it was necessary to save my son from leukemia, that’s why I kept going for so long. If not for Alisher’s illness, I would not be there.
Q: Regular people don’t know all the facts. The sudden nationality change led to rumors about Chusovitina betraying the country.
A: Yes, people made up things. Many asked: “why so sudden, how much was she paid?” There was even a scandalous incident: I competed for Uzbekistan at a World Cup and the newspaper just added the photo where I standing with a German flag. How can people do that?
Q: So, your family is mixed Uzbek-Russian. Who’s the head of the family?
A: At the moment, the dog is the head. Actually, two dogs – a Yorkshire terrier and an Alabai. Before that, our son was in charge. And if we’re talking seriously, there’s equality in my family.
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