Oksana Chusovitina's historical return to the Rio Olympics 2016 serves as her seventh consecutive games in the international competition. The 41-year-old gymnast is the oldest Olympic female gymnast in history and is among the few females to return to the Games after becoming a mother.
Chusovitina, who hails from Uzbekistan, first competed at the Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992, according to BBC. She also competed internationally for Germany and the Soviet Union (Unified Team), but returned to competing for her native country.
In an interview with The Associated Press (via NBC Olympics) in July, Chusovitina said she is "feeling good" for her seventh games. She said that whether you are 16 or 40, age wouldn't matter when gymnasts step onto the podium and start doing their routines and jumps.
Chusovitina is married to Uzbekistan's Olympic wrestler, Bakhodir Kuranov. The couple has a 17-year-old son named Alisher, who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2002 but has recovered since then.
The family lives in Germany at Bergisch Gladbach. That's where Chusovitina trains as well, Europe Online noted.
Chusovitina has a small frame, standing at about 1.50 meters or five-feet tall and weighing around 43 kilograms or 95 pounds, The AP further reported. Her body's fitness, however, is astonishing. Her hardened muscles showcased how long she's been doing top-level competitions.
Chusovitina thinks good genes contributed to how she stays fit all this time, that, along with daily trainings that last for two to three hours. She said her dedication and love for gymnastics make her "always eager to train."
"I have no pain, no problems. The toughest for me is to wait until the next training," Chusovitina added. Her age is nearly twice the age of the oldest member (22-year-old Aly Raisman) of the U.S. Olympic team.
Speaking about the looming threat of the Zika virus outbreak in Brazil, Chusovitina said she doesn't fear getting infected because she's not heading to the country to conceive. Some athletes have backed out of Rio due to fears of acquiring Zika.
Chusovitina already has 10 medals in the vault from world championships, but she said that her one dream is "to win a medal" for her home country Uzbekistan, The Huffington Post reported. As for retirement, the gymnast gives no concrete answer to when she'll do that. Even Chusovitina's German manager, Michael Fabig, thinks that she won't be done with the Olympics after Rio.
Chusovitina has been showcasing her training for the 2016 Rio Olympics on social media platforms. You can watch a few of the gymnast's training videos on her Instagram account.
