SuperHornet
Well-known member
German emigree Oksana Chusovitina, all of 33 years old, won the silver medal in the vault final. She held first for a portion of the competition before faulty scoring bemoaned by Bela Karolyi (which knocked choke-artist Alicia Sacramone out of the medals) gave the gold to North Korean vaulter Un Jong Hong and the bronze to Chinese competitor Chen Fei. In fairness to Sacramone, though, there was a LOT of clear video evidence to support Karolyi's allegations.
In a sport where one is considered "too old" when old enough to drink a beer, this is an amazing development. Chusovitina's feat is all the more amazing given her story. In her fifth Olympics under her third flag, Chusovitina emigrated from Ukraine when her son developed a form of cancer and nobody at home could help him. She called a German coach, who arranged for treatment in Germany, and then invited her to compete for Germany. Chusovitina medaled for CCCP before just about any other competing gymnast was even born. Man, this is an amazing story alongside Dara Torres in the pool. In my book, one would have to put the both of them alongside Julio Franco and George Blanda for longevity.
In a sport where one is considered "too old" when old enough to drink a beer, this is an amazing development. Chusovitina's feat is all the more amazing given her story. In her fifth Olympics under her third flag, Chusovitina emigrated from Ukraine when her son developed a form of cancer and nobody at home could help him. She called a German coach, who arranged for treatment in Germany, and then invited her to compete for Germany. Chusovitina medaled for CCCP before just about any other competing gymnast was even born. Man, this is an amazing story alongside Dara Torres in the pool. In my book, one would have to put the both of them alongside Julio Franco and George Blanda for longevity.
