Veteran Chusovitina clinches vault gold

(MENAFN - Gulf Times) Oksana Chusovitina warmed up for her record eighth Olympic Games with a gold in the women’s Vault final at the 13th Artistic Gymnastics World Cup here Friday afternoon. The 44-year-old Uzbekistan veteran breaks all paradigms. In a thin field of four gymnasts, Oksana emerged top with 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 honoured 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. The 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 accumulated 15.500 points with a smooth landing and a thunderous applause from teammates. Results (All Finals) Men’s Floor Exercise: n Artem Dolgopyat (ISR)15.033 pts n Rayderley Zapata (ESP)14.933 n Antonios Tantalidis (GRE)14.700 Men’s Pommel Horse n Saeedreza Keikha (IRI)15.200 n Nariman Kurbanov (KAZ)15.033 n Kohei Kameyama (JPN) 14.600 Men’s Still Rings n Eleftherios Petrounias (GRE) 15.500 n Arthur Zanetti (BRA) 14.933 n Mahdi Ahmad Kohani (IRI) 14.800 Women’s Vault Final n Oksana Chusovitina (UZB) 14.066 n Coline Devillard (FRA) 13.966 n Nancy Taman (EGY) 13.366 Women’s Uneven Bars n Rebeca Andrade (BRA) 14.500 n Anastasiia Bachynska (UKR) 13.433 n Lorrane Oliveira (BRA) 13.400 Last updated: June 25 2021 10:48 PMMENAFN25062021000067011011ID1102345419