Vaulting past the age barrier

World and Olympic gymnastics champion Oksana Chusovitina, now working as a coach of Uzbekistan's national women's team at the Guangzhou Asian Games, says she is planning to represent Germany and compete at her sixth Olympic Games in 2012 London. Left:Oksana Chusovitina performs her routine on the balance beam at the 42nd Artistic Gymnnastics World Championships last month. Provided to China Daily / Agence France-Presse

GUANGZHOU - At the age of 35, most international gymnasts have moved on to far less strenuous things, but that is not the case for Oksana Chusovitina.

The veteran Uzbekistan gymnast is looking forward to the 2012 London Olympic Games.

"All the athletes expect to win the gold medal, and so do I," Chusovitina told China Daily on the sidelines of the 16th Guangzhou Asian Games, where she serves as a coach on her country's women's gymnastics team.

"I plan to represent Germany at the London Games in 2012," she said.

Chusovitina, who picked up the sport at the age of seven, competed for the Soviet Union up until 1993 and then Uzbekistan until 2006.

She won the gold medal in floor exercise at the 1991 World Championships and placed second on the vault. In 1992, Chusovitina, who competed at the Olympics with the Unified Team, shared the team gold medal and was seventh in the floor final.

During her time representing Uzbekistan, she was the best gymnast on the team, earning more than 70 medals in international competitions and qualifying for the Olympics three times.

However, in 2002 her son, Alisher, was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia and she had to move to Germany due to the greater financial support and facilities there.

She is not afraid to say she was competing to make money for her son's treatment.

Her efforts have been rewarded.

"My son is in good condition now. He doesn't need special medical care and only goes for regular physical check-ups," Chusovitina said. "He is a good boy and is now in grade four. He likes to play soccer."

Uzbekistan invited Chusovitina back into the fold as a coach for the Asian Games and she is proud of the women's team winning two bronze medals.

"It is very difficult and tiring to be a coach, but I think I've done a good job," she said. "I would like to thank the athletes. They had very good performances."

To maintain her form, Chusovitina trained by herself after the Uzbekistan gymnasts went through their paces.

She still holds many records in the gymnastics world.

She is the only female gymnast to compete at five Olympic Games, and is one of only two to compete at the Olympics with three different national teams: the Unified Team in 1992, Uzbekistan in 1996, 2000 and 2004 and Germany in 2008.

She also holds the record for the most individual World Championships medals in a single event, with eight on the vault.

"I like this sport very much and I can't stop doing it," Chusovitina said.

China Daily