19. Juni 2005  
Cologne / Germany  
Artistic Gymnastics

Oksana Chusovitina - 30 and still world class!

Happy Birthday, Oksana....!
Actually Oksana Chousovitina was registered to compete in the Dutch Open Tournament 2005 last weekend, however she didn’t show up. Hence the currently reigning world champion on vault and the oldest internationally-competitive female gymnast today, celebrated her birthday at home in Cologne.
Already in 1991, being a member of the last USSR gymnastics team in the history of World Championships, she became World Champion on floor in Indianapolis at the age of 15.
Married since 1998, the top-athlete though weathered through her hardest period recently, struggling successfully for the health of her 5 year-old son Alisher who had been diagnosed with leukemia!