Oksana Chusovitina, a 43-year-old who could go for her eighth Olympics in 2020, earned silver on vault at the Asian Games in Indonesia on Thursday, missing gold by one tenth of a point.
That came two years after the Uzbek great broke the gymnastics record with her seventh Olympic appearance in Rio and one year after she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.
If Chusovitina makes Tokyo 2020, she would be the oldest Olympic gymnast in 100 years. She is already the oldest female Olympic gymnast.
Chusovitina debuted at the world championships in 1991, winning gold with the Soviet Union, the Olympics in 1992 with the Unified Team and the Asian Games in 1994 with Uzbekistan.
She also represented Germany from 2006 through 2012. She had moved there to seek treatment for son Alisher’s leukemia.
Chusovitina has long focused on vault, where she won 10 Olympic or world medals, the most recent in 2011. She finished fifth on vault at the 2017 World Championships, matching her best Olympic or worlds result since a silver medal in 2011.
Chusovitina shared the Asian Games podium with gold medalist Yeo Seojeong of South Korea and bronze medalist Pyon Rye Yong of North Korea, who are both younger than her son.
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Her LEGENDARY story continues! 43-year-old Oksana #chusovitina still competing, winning silver in vault at #AsianGames @gymnastics @insideGym pic.twitter.com/fxOqsJ1mcA
— Xinhua Sports (@XHSports) August 23, 2018
