Oksana Chusovitina poses with her gold medal along with other gymnasts yesterday.
Oksana Chusovitina yesterday warmed up for her record eight Olympic Games with a gold in the women’s vault final at the 13th FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup at Aspire Dome in Doha.
In a field of four gymnasts, the 44-year-old emerged victorious after earning 14.066 points.
She had initial difficulty on landing in her first attempt, but it was good enough to overcome her nearest challenger Coline Devillard of France (13.966).
Among the teenage girl competitors, who were not even born when she competed in her first Olympics in 1992, Oksana remains a mother figure to most of her challengers yet quite a tough nut to crack.
Oksana won a gold medal with the Unified Team, formed by athletes from countries of the former Soviet Union, at the 1992 Barcelona Games.
Age has been just a number for her, but it remains to be seen how she competes in a tough field in Tokyo next month.
“I’m honored to be a role model for these young gymnasts,” said Oksana.
Egypt’s 26-year-old Nancy Taman finished third (13.366).
Qatar’s Duha Al Habshi raised hopes of a podium finish after she qualified for the finals on Wednesday, but her performance (11.799) wasn’t up to the optimum level.
Petrounias wins rings title
2016 Olympic champion Eleftherios Petrounias came up with a stirring performance on the men’s still rings as he awaits a confirmation from the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) on his Tokyo ticket.
The Greek star accumulated 15.500 points with a smooth landing and a thunderous applause from team-mates.
