Paris Olympics without women's gymnastics 'legend' Chusovitsina
For the first time in 30 years, the Paris Games will be without the "Iron Lady" Oksana Chusovitina (48, Uzbekistan). The world's most decorated women's artistic gymnast, who had hoped to make her ninth consecutive Olympic Games, has had her dreams of going to Paris dashed by injury.
"I am very upset that I will not be able to participate in the Asian Gymnastics Championships, which I have been preparing for a long time," Chusovitina wrote on social media on Thursday, adding, "I am performing in my country, in front of my fans, and I have done everything to prepare, but unfortunately you will not see me among the competitors." Chusovitina was reportedly injured while training for the floor exercise. The Asian Gymnastics Championships are being held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Chusovitina, who needed to finish first in the women's individual all-around (vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise) at the Asian Championships to qualify for the Paris Games, fell just short of qualifying for her ninth Olympic Games.
Born on June 19, 1975, in Uzbekistan during the Soviet Union, Chusovitina, who is approaching her 49th birthday, is the only gymnast of either sex to compete in eight Olympic Games. In a sport characterized by 스포츠토토 early retirement, she has become a living legend and a symbol of care and longevity.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, she competed in Barcelona in 1992 as a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States and went on to win eight consecutive Olympic podiums until Tokyo 2020 in 2021. At 46, she was the oldest female gymnast to compete at the Olympics. She won gold in the team event in 1992 and bronze on vault with Germany at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
She has also won two gold, four silver and two bronze medals at the Asian Games, including the vault and floor exercise at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan. At the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, she won silver on vault, just behind Yeo Seo-jung (Jecheon-si, South Korea), who was 27 years her junior.
"The important thing is not to give up," said Chusovitina, who declined to comment on whether she will retire after Paris or continue her Olympic quest.