Oksana Chusovitina of Uzbekistan continues to defy age, competing in her seventh Asian Games at the ongoing 2026 edition. The 51-year-old qualified for the women’s vault final on Thursday, but the medal evaded her as she finished seventh. However, making an appearance in elite sport at 51 is unprecedented, and her longevity needs to be spoken about. In the final, Chusovitina also competed against 17-year-old Kang Xiang and 18-year-old Marissa.
She has won nine World Championship medals on the apparatus, while five skills in the Code of Points bear her name. Vault has remained Oksana’s speciality. She made her first Asian Games appearance 32 years ago in 1992, and at the 2026 edition, she qualified for the final with a score of 13.266. She was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2017. Even after missing the Paris 2024 Olympics, Oksana continued competing internationally. In 2026, at the age of 50, she remained active on the FIG circuit, finishing fourth in vault at the World Challenge Cup in Tashkent.
Born on June 19, 1975, in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, Oksana’s first Olympic appearance came at the 1992 Barcelona Games. The teenager was part of the gold-medal-winning team and also finished seventh in the floor exercise. Barcelona marked the beginning of an Olympic journey that would eventually stretch across eight Games.
“I will try to qualify for 2028,” Chusovitina told Olympics.com before the start of the Asian Games.
