German shooter Nino Salukvadze made history by competing in her 10th consecutive Olympics game. She started he career representing the Soviet Union and now Georgia. Her sportsmanship and commitment has made her an inspiration for several women out there.
55 and unstoppable! Nino Salukvadze has become the first athlete in the history of Olympic games to qualify for the 10th consecutive Olympics. She is a Georgian Sports shooter and a nine-time Olympian who has won medals on three occasions. At 19, while competing for the Soviet Union at the 1988 Summer Olympics, she won a medal in the women’s 10-meter air pistol competition.
In a career spanning nearly 40 years, Nino Salukvadze has won every title in her sport. She made her Olympic debut for the former Sovet Union at 1988 Seoul games, winning gold in the women’s 25m Pistol and silver in the 10m Air Pistol. Twenty years later, at the Beijing Olympics, Salukvadze won bronze for Georgia in the 10m Air Pistol event. She garnered significant attention for embracing her Russian rival Natalia Padernia at the time when the two countries were at raging war. “We live in the 21st century. We shouldn’t stoop so low to wage wars between us,” Salukvadze said at the time.
Georgia’s Nino Salukvadzegestures during the 10m air pistol women’s qualification round at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in Chateauroux, France. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
In 2016, Salukvadze and her son Tsotne Machavariani, who’s also a pistol shooter, became the first mother-and-son duo in Olympic history to compete at the same games. She considered retiring after her last Summer Olympics in Tokyo three years ago but was convinced to continue by her father and coach Vakhtang, who died this year. In an interview, she said that she was optimistic about her chances to qualify because it was important win for the country. “It’s not important for me, it’s important for my country. Georgia is really small and 80% of the world’s population doesn’t know where it is. So maybe if I achieve this, they will know about my small paradise country.”
Over the years, she has consistently excelled, and her latest achievement cements her place in Olympic history. The three-time Olympic medalist has defied age stereotypes and reminded all women to always keep pursuing their dreams.