Meet 49-year-old Oksana Chusovitina: The Uzbek gymnast who is ready to make pro comeback after struggles with injury

Oksana Chusovitina, a 49-year-old gymnast, is geared up to make a comeback to the sport after suffering from an injury in 2024.

The eight-time Olympian's 2024 season ended early as she sustained an injury that led to her disqualification from the 2024 Asian Championships. This tournament was the only way to qualify for the Paris Olympics. However, despite this setback, she revealed that she had no plans to step away from the sport.

Currently, the gymnast is making a comeback as she registered herself at the upcoming Cottbus World Cup, which will commence on February 20. Here, she will be competing in the vault and beam balance exercises. Along with this, she is also planning to compete at the 2028 LA Olympics.

Talking to Olympics.com, Chusovitina revealed that she wants to prove herself and will try her best to qualify for the Olympics.

“I want to prove to myself, I’m fighting with myself, and I still want to see whether I can do this or not," Chusovitina said. "I really want to qualify for the Olympics, specifically at this age, and overcome all this talk that gymnastics is only for young people. I want to show that if a female gymnast wants to train if she likes it, why should she retire if she is 30 years old? This is not right."

Oksana Chusovitina's family and hometown

Oksana Chusovitina was born on June 19, 1975, in Bukhara, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union. She has an older brother and two sisters and among them, she is the youngest. Currently, she is married to an Olympian wrestler, Bakhodir Kurbanov in 1997, and also has a son, named Alisher.

When did Chusovitina take up the sport?

Oksana Chusovitina took up the sport at just the age of 8. She fell in love with the sport after her brother took her to one of his artistic gymnastics sessions.

Oksana Chusovitina Education

The Uzbek gymnast passed out from the University of Cologne and along with this, she also graduated from the Sports University in Tashkent.

Other achievements of Oksana Chusovitina

Oksana Chusovitina has competed in several competitions, including the Olympic Games, World Championships, Asian Games, European Championships, and multiple more. Her Olympic medal tally is two, which includes one gold and one silver.

In 1992, Chusovitina represented the Unified team, where she won a gold medal in the team all-around event, and in the 2008 Beijing Games, she represented Germany and won a silver medal in the vault exercise. Adding to this, she has also clinched 11 medals in the World Championships, including the 1991 iteration, where she represented the Soviet Union and won two gold medals in the team all-around event and floor exercise and a silver medal in vault exercises.

In the 1992 iteration, Chusovitina competed for CIS and won a bronze medal in the vault exercise. In the Asian Games, she won two gold, four silver and two bronze medals in her career.