Germany’s 33-Year-Old Gymnast

I watched a lot of the Olympics this weekend — swimming, basketball, beach volleyball and, of course, gymnastics.

Team USA looked a little shaky at times, especially on the uneven bars, but they came back and nailed the balance beam (does anybody else get really nervous while watching this event besides me??). They are currently in second place, behind China, going into the team medal round. And second isn’t a bad place to be at all.

I was happy for them, but I have to admit that I was happier for Germany. It’s not because I’m a fan of their team, I just happen to be a fan of one of the members of the team. She’s an inspiration. And after watching the back story about her, I couldn’t help but cheer her on.

Oksana Chusovitina began competing internationally before members of her team were even born. At 33, she’s the oldest competitive gymnast ever. The 2008 games in Beijing are Oksana’s fifth Olympics. And she capitalized on this amazing achievement by qualifying for the single round competition on the vault.

As if that feat alone wasn’t enough to pull at your heart strings, there’s more.

Oksana is participating for Germany because her son, Alisher, has leukemia. Oksana moved to Germany to seek better Oncology treatment for him. And he’s responding very well to the treatment he’s receiving.

I don’t know if it’s the fact that Oksana is a 33-year-old gymnast, if it’s because of what she’s doing for her son and family, or if it’s her persistence to succeed in yet another Olympic competition that gets me the most. It could be a combination of all three. Either way, this is just another reason why I love the Olympics. It’s always the story behind the story that hits home.

Here’s Oksana in action at the 2008 World Cup Doha Finals, courtesy of YouTube. I swear, she looks like she’s 15 at the most.