Manama, Bahrain, October 30, 2022: The theme of the seminar might have been equality between the sexes, but in Oksana Chusovitina, the OCA Gender Equity Seminar had a person who any international male athlete would find hard to be equal of.
An eight-time Olympian, Uzbekistan gymnast Chusovitina is now aiming for a ninth Games having targeted qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympics as one of her main goals – the other being winning a medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games next year.
Very few male athletes, in any sport, could come close to holding a candle of the legendary gymnast who during her presentation drew rounds of applause from delegates at the seminar, amazed at her longevity and success on the international arena.
At 47, she has competed at the Olympics for three different countries – the Soviet Union (Unified Team), Germany and now Uzbekistan – and is the only female gymnast to compete at eight Olympics. She has won one Olympic gold medal, three World Championship titles, and two Asian Games gold medals, among a cupboard full of medals and titles.
While most female athletes struggle to get recognition – as highlighted during the seminar by other speakers – Chusovitina’s longstanding efforts has earned her the gratitude of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who has decreed that a new gymnastics academy be named after her.
“I have many dreams. I will do my best to qualify for Paris 2024 and I also want to win another medal for Uzbekistan. Away from the field of play, I have many plans including the opening of my academy. There has been no other academy named after an athlete and I’m really proud of this,” Chusovitina told a spellbound audience.
Yes, the theme might have been gender equality, but as far as the Uzbek gymnast is concerned, no one could hold a candle on her – male or female.
