Gold Medal Mom

Posted by: Lauren Young on August 12

Like many (female) Olympic viewers, I am a sucker for Michael Phelps, but the other Olympian I am rooting for is gymnast Oksana Chusovitina. Chusovitina is 33, which makes her a dinosaur in her sport.

She is also a working mom who is competing in her fifth Olympics, a record appearance at the games.

What makes Chusovitina’s story especially compelling is that she has been motivated to work at an age when many other gymnasts are retired to support her family. A native of Uzbekistan, Chusovitina competed first for the U.S.S.R., pre-breakup. Later in her career, she was forced to leave her homeland after her son Alisher was diagnosed with leukemia in October 2002. Chusovitina initially took Alisher to Moscow for treatment, but after learning that the hospital wanted an upfront payment and couldn’t guarantee proper care, she went to Cologne, Germany where she had friends. The global gymnastics community donated about $200,000 to defray the costs of Alisher’s treatment; Chusovitina ended up becoming a German citizen.

And she continued to compete because the prize money she earned paid for Alisher’s care. “If I don’t compete then my son won’t live; it’s as simple as that,” the 27-year-old Chusovitina told Reuters in 2002. “My son underwent an operation, and the only reason he managed to get that treatment is because I am earning money.”

Even if she doesn’t win one on the mat, this mom deserves a gold medal. Elsewhere in the blogosphere, blogger Elizabeth F. at The Whole Family says she is worthy of mother of the year, too boot. And Mother Talkers has an interesting take on Olympic moms.

Which athletes have captivated you during this Olympics? Have any working parents caught your eye? (Cue Olympic theme song…)

TrackBack URL for this entry: http://blogs.businessweek.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/