HANGZHOU, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) — Seemingly ageless gymnastics legend Oksana Chusovitina of Uzbekistan narrowly missed a medal within the vault closing in Hangzhou Asian Games right here on Thursday, however she mentioned she’s going to proceed to coach and compete for a berth on the Olympics in Paris.
“Now I have made it clear that I still need to improve in order to qualify for the Olympics, but I feel I have more energy than before,” the 48-year-old informed Xinhua after the match.
Chusovitina completed on 13.383 factors, solely 0.15 factors behind China’s Yu Linmin, who claimed a bronze medal.
“For me, the Asian Games is over. I already walked out of the competing atmosphere,” she mentioned.
Chusovitina impressed the viewers as she tried a routine with an issue of 5.0 and he or she landed effectively to attain 13.533, however the problem in her second routine dropped to solely 4.4.
“I am not feeling regret for missing a medal in Asian Games, life is not over and I will continue to train,” she mentioned.
Chusovitina has a storied historical past on the Asian Games, having received eight medals, together with two golds in 2002.
When Chusovitina’s son was recognized with leukemia in 2002, she adopted German citizenship to compete at international occasions for the next earnings and higher medical therapy. After her son’s restoration, Chusovitina continued her gymnastics journey out of sheer love for the game. Though she introduced her retirement after the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, she determined to return shortly after.
“I would like to give my thanks to all the people in China who care me and my son. My son is a university student and he wants to be a teacher in the future,” Chusovitina mentioned.