Gymnastics
Gymnast, 51, Is Training for Her 9th Olympics: ‘As Long as I Can Do it, Why Do I Need to Stop?’
Oksana Chusovitina was a first-time Olympian in Barcelona in 1992. The Uzbekistani gymnast, then 17, won a gold medal with the Unified Team at those games. Now, at 51, she’s training to compete in her 9th Olympics, in Los Angeles in 2028.
“I will try to qualify for 2028,” Chusovitina told reporters at the Asian Games in Japan on Tuesday, September 22, per Olympics.com. “It’s sport, it’s gymnastics. If it’s possible, I will try to compete at LA28.”
“What, you don’t want to see me anymore?” she joked. “As long as I’m enjoying it, as long as I can do it, why do I need to stop?”
The athlete even hinted that she may try for another discipline along with her signature vault.
“I’m feeling great and it’s great to perform here when we have so many fans and so much support from the spectators, and I will perform as long as I can. I’m not competing with anyone. I’m just enjoying the process,” Chusovitina continued.
“Now I’m getting more pleasure and excitement. I’m just enjoying the competition,” she added. “Finally, after all these years, I am starting to have positive emotions and pleasure from gymnastics.”
After Barcelona, Chusovitina competed for Uzbekistan in the Olympics in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2016 and 2020, and for Germany in 2008 and 2012.
Chusovitina, who took home the silver medal for vault in 2008 in Beijing, attributed her continued career success to staying healthy.
“No big secrets. I have not had big injuries,” Chusovitina explained.
“So as long as I can continue doing this, I will do it. It’s not harder for me from year to year. It’s still the same but [I’m] becoming smarter and smarter every year.”
Chusovitina, who has a 25-year-old son, will be 53 when the torch is lit in LA. If she qualifies, she will be only the second woman — after Georgian sports shooter Nino Slukvadze — to compete in nine Olympics.
“I never expected to be here but let me ask all of you: are you aware of what you will be doing 20 years from now?” she said.
Later that day, Chusovitina secured her place in Thursday’s vault final at the Asian Games.
