Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant passages that answer the question.
Query: Who is the oldest gymnast to compete in the Olympics?
Oksana Aleksandrovna Chusovitina (Russian: Оксана Александровна Чусовитина; born 19 June 1975) is a world and Olympic level gymnast who has competed for the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan, and Germany.
In his 70s, the 1968 graduate of Duke University is regarded as the "hope for old men". He was the oldest athlete in the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. Hoketsu is the oldest Olympian to ever compete for Japan, and is the third oldest Olympian to compete ever, next to shooter Oscar Swahn of Sweden, who won a silver in the 1920 Summer Olympics and Arthur von Pongracz, who competed at age 72 in Dressage in 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.
Valery Nikolayevich Karasyov (; born 23 September 1946) is a retired Russian gymnast. He competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in all artistic gymnastics events and won a silver medal in the team competition. Individually his best result was fifth place in the floor exercise. At the world championships Karasyov won team silver medals in 1966 and 1970. He married Olga Karasyova, a Russian gymnast who also competed at the 1968 Olympics.
The Russian team featured twelve defending champions from Beijing, including pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva (who competed at her fourth Olympics), synchronized swimmer Anastasia Davydova, race walkers Olga Kaniskina and Valeriy Borchin, modern pentathlete Andrey Moiseev and rhythmic gymnast Evgeniya Kanaeva. Among these champions, Isinbayeva, Davydova and Kanaeva only managed to defend their Olympic titles for the second consecutive time in their events. Kanaeva became the first rhythmic gymnast to win back to back gold medal at the Olympics. Volleyballer Yevgeniya Estes became the first Russian athlete to compete in six Olympic games, although she first appeared as part of the Unified Team. Meanwhile, rifle shooters Artem Khadjibekov and Sergei Kovalenko, and volleyballer Sergey Tetyukhin made their fifth Olympic appearance. Equestrian show jumper Vladimir Tuganov, at age 51, was the oldest athlete of the team, while relay swimmer Mariya Baklakova was the youngest at age 15.
McGregor started gymnastics at age six. When she was younger, she was inspired by the American artistic gymnast Shawn Johnson. Having grown older, she is inspired by American artistic gymnast Bailie Key and New Zealand flatwater canoer Lisa Carrington. Her first international appearances were the 2012 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships in Everett, Washington, and the 2013 Australian Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney. She competed at the 2014 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Nanning, China. She won a bronze medal in the vault at the 2016 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships. A week later, she met the qualifications for the 2016 Summer Olympics at the 2016 Gymnastics Olympic Test Event (known as Aquece Rio 2016) in Rio de Janeiro. She subsequently gained approval by the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) to be sent to the Olympics and was one of three gymnasts confirmed by the NZOC on 11 May 2016; Mikhail Koudinov and Dylan Schmidt were the other two. She is the first artistic gymnast to compete for New Zealand since the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where Laura Robertson represented the country, and at age 17 is New Zealand's youngest Olympic competitor in 2016.
Olivia Vivian (born 13 July 1989 in Perth) is an Australian artistic gymnast who competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics. After competing at the 2008 Olympics, Vivian competed for Oregon State University in NCAA gymnastics for four years. She also competed in the 2005 and 2006 World Championships.
Gustave Sandras (February 24, 1872 – June 21, 1951) was a French gymnast who competed in the early 20th century. He participated in the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, and won the equivalent (see 1900 Summer Olympics) of a gold medal in the only gymnastic event to take place at the games, the combined exercises (see Gymnastics at the 1900 Summer Olympics).
At 39 years old, Iordan Iovtchev was the oldest of all the competitors in the artistic gymnastics events at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He and Oksana Chusovitina share the record for competing at the greatest number of Olympic Games - for both artistic gymnasts, the 2012 Summer Olympics in London was their 6th time as Olympians.
Heikki Ilmari Savolainen (28 September 1907 – 29 November 1997) was a Finnish artistic gymnast. He competed in five consecutive Olympics from 1928 to 1952 and won at least one medal in each of them. In 1928 he won a bronze on pommel horse, which was the first-ever medal in gymnastics for Finland. Winning his last medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, he became the oldest gymnastics medalist, at 44 years old; he delivered the Olympic Oath in the opening ceremony of those games. In 1932 Savolainen and his teammate Einari Teräsvirta had the same score on horizontal bar, but the Finnish team voted to give the silver medal to Savolainen. In 1948 he again had the same score as teammates Veikko Huhtanen and Paavo Aaltonen on pommel horse, and the gold medal was shared between the three.
She returned the following year and announced plans to continue competing through the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.[24] She went on to qualify an individual place for Uzbekistan at a qualifying event in Rio de Janeiro in April 2016.[25] By competing, she set a new record as the oldest gymnast to ever compete at the Olympic Games at the age of 41 and 2 months and the only gymnast ever to compete in seven consecutive Olympic Games, surpassing the record of six that she set in 2012 with Yordan Yovchev of Bulgaria.
Olympic rhythmic gymnastics is only for female participants (although Japan has begun developing programs in which men can compete. Also in Spain, where men are allowed to participate in the women’s competition. The men's program has yet to be formally recognized by the FIG, however, and men cannot compete in the Olympics as a rhythmic gymnast). Gymnasts start at a young age and become age-eligible to compete in the Olympic Games and other major international competitions on January 1 of their 16th year (For example, a gymnast born December 31, 2000 would be age eligible for the 2016 Olympics). Gymnasts in Russia and Europe typically start training at a very young age and those at their peak are typically in their late teens (15–19) or early twenties but since 2004 it is common to see gymnasts achieving their peak after reaching their twenties. Some gymnasts who were or are highly competitive in their early twenty or late twenties are Yulia Barsukova, Sylvia Miteva, Almudena Cid, Liubov Charkashyna, Aliya Yussupova, Aliya Garayeva, Ganna Rizatdinova, Melitina Staniouta, Delphine Ledoux, Anna Bessonova, Evgenia Kanaeva and Carolina Rodriguez. The latter and her fellow countrywoman Almudena Cid are among the oldest rhythmic gymnasts ever.
The Canadian team included several past Olympic champions, three of them defending (freestyle wrestler Carol Huynh, equestrian jumping rider Eric Lamaze, and the men's coxed eight rowing team). Equestrian show jumper Ian Millar became the first athlete to compete at his tenth Olympic games, and also, the oldest athlete of the team at age 65. Eight rower Lesley Thompson, Canada's oldest female athlete, made her seventh Olympic appearance, having participated since 1984 (except the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, where she was not selected). Gymnast Victoria Moors, on the other hand, was the youngest athlete of the team, at age 15. Other Canadian athletes featured road cyclist Clara Hughes, who competed at both Summer and Winter Olympic games, two-time silver medalist Alexander Despatie in springboard diving, multiple-time Olympic medalist Adam van Koeverden in sprint kayaking, and swimmers Ryan Cochrane and Brent Hayden.
Gymnastics events have been staged at the Olympic Games since 1896. Italian female gymnasts have participated in every Summer Olympics since 1928, except for 1932, 1964, and 1980. A total of 52 female gymnasts have represented Italy. Italian women have won one medal at the Olympics – the 1928 team all-around silver. Monica Bergamelli, Vanessa Ferrari and Miranda Cicognani are the only Italian female gymnasts who have competed in at least three Olympics.
Gymnastics events have been staged at the Olympic Games since 1896. Canadian female gymnasts have participated in every Summer Olympics since 1956, except for 1980. A total of 51 female gymnasts have represented Canada. Canadian women have not won any medals at the Olympics. Teresa McDonnell is the only Canadian female gymnast who has competed in at least three Olympics.
The one exception to the F.I.G.'s age restrictions until recently applied to the year before the Olympics, when gymnasts who were one year below the required age, but would be the required age in the Olympic year, were allowed to compete as seniors at the World Championships and other FIG meets. For instance, gymnasts born in 1977 were allowed to compete at senior events in 1991, when they were 14 or turning 14 within the calendar year. Within the last Olympic cycle, gymnasts born in 1992 were permitted to compete as seniors in 2007. This was permitted to allow nations to qualify to the Olympics with their best teams, and to give emerging gymnasts some experience in major competition before the Olympics. However, the FIG eliminated this exception as of the 2012 Olympic cycle.
Two naturalized German athletes made their sixth Olympic appearance as individuals: Mongolian-born pistol shooter Munkhbayar Dorjsuren, who won two Olympic bronze medals (including one from Beijing), and Uzbek-born gymnast Oksana Chusovitina, who won silver in the women's vault exercises. Other naturalized athletes included Kazakh-born marathon runner Irina Mikitenko, who competed at her fifth Olympics as an individual athlete, and Georgian-born trampoline gymnast Anna Dogonadze, who represented her current nation in four consecutive Olympic games. Pistol shooter and triple Olympic gold medalist Ralf Schumann was at his seventh appearance, having participated at every Olympic Games since 1988 (his first under the former East Germany). Rifle shooters Maik Eckhardt and Sonja Pfeilschifter, on the other hand, made their fifth Olympic appearance, although the latter had participated in the Games since 1992. Equestrian eventing rider and Olympic gold medalist Peter Thomsen, at age 51, was the oldest athlete of the team, while gymnast Janine Berger was the youngest, at age 16.
The time Rhythmic Gymnastics was officially added as an Olympic Sport at the 1984 Olympic Games. The gymnasts from USSR and Bulgaria were considered the favored to win Rhythmic Gymnastics in Los Angeles but Eastern led Boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics put Stăiculescu the highest rank gymnast to compete in the Olympics, Canadian Lori Fung ( ranked 23rd ) at that time trained together with Stăiculescu who would eventually upset Stăiculescu for the gold medal. She won the silver medal in All-around at the Olympics. She is the only Romanian to win a medal in Rhythmic Gymnastics.
Anna Li (born September 4, 1988) is a retired American artistic gymnast. She was an 8-time All-American gymnast while competing in the NCAA and a member of the UCLA Bruins women's gymnastics team that won the 2010 NCAA National Championship title. She was on the US National Team in 2011 - 2012. Her parents, Li Yuejiu and Wu Jiani were Olympic gymnasts who competed for China at the 1984 Summer Olympics and are also her coaches. She has a younger sister, Andrea Li, who is also a gymnast. While training as a Level 10 and Elite gymnast she attended and graduated from Waubonsie Valley High School in Aurora, Illinois.
At the 1984 Summer Olympics, two different gymnastics disciplines were contested. In addition to the fourteen artistic gymnastics events contested, for the first time at the Olympics, a rhythmic gymnastics event was contested–the women's individual all-around. All of the gymnastics events were held at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles from July 29 through August 11. Several teams who had qualified to compete were absent as a result of the 1984 Summer Olympics boycott, including the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, and North Korea.
Brittany Rogers (born June 8, 1993) is a Canadian artistic gymnast who competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She attends the University of Georgia and competes for the Georgia Gym Dogs. Consequently, combining both elite and college gymnastics without deferral, Rogers is one of very few gymnasts to have undertaken this combination – vying for a spot on the 2016 Summer Olympics team.
The Romanian team featured past Olympic champions, four of them defending (marathon runner Constantina Diță, judoka Alina Dumitru, gymnast Sandra Izbașa, and rowing pair Georgeta Andrunache and Viorica Susanu). Eight female Romanian athletes were among the oldest of the team, including discus thrower Nicoleta Grasu, who competed at her sixth Olympics. Georgeta Andrunache became one of the most successful female rowers in Olympic history, with a total of six medals; five of them gold. Andrunache's compatriot, Viorica Susanu, who won a total of five Olympic medals, competed at her fifth Olympics, along with marathon runner Lidia Șimon. Skeet shooter Lucia Mihalache, at age 45, was the oldest athlete of the team, while gymnast Larisa Iordache was the youngest at age 16.
Naoya Tsukahara (Japanese:塚原 直也 "Tsukahara Naoya", born June 25, 1977) is a former Japanese artistic gymnast and 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist now coaching and competing for Australia. He is the son of the former Japanese gymnast, Mitsuo Tsukahara, who was also a multiple gold medalist in the Olympic Games during the 1960s and 70s. He competed at the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympics as well as many World Championships for team Japan from 1996 until 2006. In 2009, he moved to Australia, gaining citizenship in 2012, and currently represents Australia's national gymnastics team, most recently competing at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
Cardiff Olympic Gymnastics Club, founded in 1948 as a ladies artistic gymnastics club, opened a boys section in September 1999. It is the oldest established and 'most senior' ladies artistic gymnastics club in Wales. The club, based in Grangetown, has over 400 members. The Girls Gymnastics section compete on four pieces of apparatus: asymmetric bars; beam; floor; and vault. The Boys Gymnastics section compete on six pieces: floor; vault; pommel horse; still rings; parallel bars; and high bar.
On August 21, 2008 the IOC instructed the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) to investigate allegations that Chinese gymnast He Kexin was underaged and therefore ineligible to compete during the Olympic gymnastics competition. The FIG requires that all gymnasts be at least 16 years of age in the Olympic calendar year. The IOC had initially accepted the ages of all the Chinese participants, but newly uncovered documents suggested He was 14 years old, and thus ineligible to compete.
1928 was the first women's Olympic gymnastics event where 5 teams competed. Lavinia Gianoni was the oldest member of the Italian gymnastics team in 1928 at 17 years of age.