The WOGA Classic is a much anticipated event which features both elite and level 10 competitions. FloGymnastics will be LIVE streaming the international elite session as well as both level 10 sessions on Saturday, Feb. 13 for all FloPRO members. The stream will begin at 8:00 am for the level 10s and the international elite session live stream will begin with warm-ups at 5:00 pm.

It’s not just the best in the US who compete at the WOGA Classic, but also some of the top elite gymnasts from around the globe. This year, one of the most legendary gymnasts in the world will be competing at the WOGA Classic: Oksana Chusovitina.

Although elite gymnastics is often viewed as a sport for the young, Chusovitina has proved this is certainly not the case. The World and Olympic Champion will turn 41 years old this June, and she’s still going strong. It was in the US that she made her world debut back in 1991 at the World Championships in Indianapolis. Now, 25 years later, she’ll be competing alongside gymnasts who were not yet born when she became a World Champion for the first time. It will be exciting to see her back in action at the WOGA Classic.
 
Below, we’ve taken a look at the timeline of her many accomplishments in her career thus far and what we can look forward to seeing at the WOGA Classic.

The Beginning: The Soviet Union & Unified Team

Chusovitina was born in Uzbekistan in 1975 and made her first big splash in 1988 when she won the junior all-around title at the USSR National Championships. She began competing internationally for the Soviet Union in 1990 and attended the 1991 World Championships in Indianapolis, where she won the floor title and placed second on vault, in addition to helping the team to a team gold medal. This would be the last World Championships that the Soviet Union would compete in.

In addition to making her world debut, Chusovitina also performed a dismount on bars that would later be named for her in the Code of Points - a hop full pirouette into a full out. Check out the video below of her performing this routine at the 1991 Worlds:



In 1992, Chusovitina competed in her first Olympics in Barcelona and helped the Unified Team win a team gold medal. She also won a bronze medal on vault during the World Championships in Paris that same year.

Back to Uzbekistan, and more Olympics

Chusovitina returned to Uzbekistan after the 1992 Olympics to compete for her home nation. She represented the team at many international events, including three Olympic Games: 1996, 2000 and 2004. She also won five additional World medals during this time, all on vault: a bronze in 1993, a silver in 2001, a bronze in 2002, a gold in 2003, and a silver in 2005. At the 2001 World Championships, Chusovitina competed a vault that was named for her in the Code of Points: a handspring forward pike on, piked salto forward with with full twist off, currently worth a 5.5. Just a year later, in 2002, Chusovitina had another vault named for her after she performed it successfully at the World Championships - a handspring forward on, stretched salto forward with a 1 1/2 twist off. The vault is currently worth a 6.2. Check out a video of her performing this vault below:



In 1997, Chusovitina married fellow Uzbekistani Olympian Bakhodir Kurbanov. The two had a son in 1999 named Alisher, who was unfortunately diagnosed with leukemia in 2002. It was Alisher’s diagnosis that prompted Chusovitina to make the move to Germany to seek medical treatment for her son.

The move to Germany

After gaining German citizenship, Chusovitina started competing for Germany in 2006 and won the vault bronze medal at the World Championships that year. She was also very successful at the 2008 Olympics, where she won the vault silver medal - the first individual Olympic medal of her career. In addition to her success of vault, she also competed in the all-around, where she qualified to the final and placed ninth overall. Check out the video of her Olympic vaults below:

Coming Back for More

Chusovitina announced in 2009 that the World Championships that year in London would be her final competition. It was not her final competition after all, however, and she went on to compete at the 2011 World Championships, where she won a silver medal on vault.

In 2012, Chusovitina went to the Olympics with the German team, marking her sixth Olympics. She qualified for the vault final and placed in an impressive fifth place.

She also competed in her 14th World Championships last year in Glasgow, where showed off a new vault in competition. And it wasn’t just any new vault - it was a Produnova, arguably perhaps the toughest vault being attempted in women’s gymnastics today.

Not Done Yet

Chusovitina has accomplished so much in her long career, but she’s not done yet. She has indicated a desire to compete at the Rio Olympics, which she will likely try to do as an individual qualifier since Uzbekistan did not qualify as a team. Amazingly, she is also still competing on all four events. She has already competed in an international competition this year - the House National Invitational, which ran from February 5-7. She placed 2nd in the all-around at this competition, with her high score being a 14.075 on vault, earning her the 1st place spot for that event. She was also impressive on floor, demonstrating that her tumbling skills are still there. Check out the video below from this competition: 




By the way, her son fully recovered from his early cancer and will be turning 17 this year, around the same age as many of his mom’s fellow competitors.


Related:
Roster: International Elite Session at WOGA Classic
Roster: WOGA Classic Level 10s