Chusovitina eyes Doha leg with a silver-medal finish in Baku
DOHA: Oksana Chusovitina continued with her dream to qualify for a record eighth Olympic Games after she won a silver in the women’s vault final at the FIG ART Individual Apparatus World Cup in Baku on Saturday.
“I’m very pleased. Right now, I want to qualify the Olympics. I will try all possible options. Since I don’t have a team, it’s a little bit easier for me to qualify compared to gymnasts from other countries. I can get license both at the World Championships and the World Cups,” said Chusovitina.
The 43-year-old, who will be eyeing another superlative performance at the Doha-leg next week, earned 14.933 for the Cheng and followed up with 14.6 for the double-twisting Yurchenko.
In Baku, she averaged 14.45, ahead of 2018 world medalist Alexa Moreno of Mexico, who was third with a 14.249 average.
The top-ranked gymnast on each individual event at the conclusion of the FIG World Cup series qualifies for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics — three best performances at different World Cup events count toward his or her final ranking.
Chusovitina showed excellent form and mastery on the event where she holds seven world medals and Olympic silver from 2008.
“I have a dream which I want to achieve, and I hope that it will come true,” added the mother of one.
If she will gets to compete in Tokyo, the Uzbek legend will become the only athlete in the world to have participated in eight Olympic Games since 1992.
