NAGOYA: If Simone Biles is the GOAT of women's gymnastics, Oksana Chusovitina deserves to be known as the QOAT - the Queen of All Time.
The 51-year-old Uzbekistani has competed at eight Olympic Games, winning a team gold in Barcelona in 1992, and 16 world championships.
And at her seventh Asian Games, she finished fifth in the vault on Thursday.
She joked afterwards about her age in a sport where mid-20s is considered ancient.
“If they gave you extra points for your age, I’d always come first,” joked Chusovitina, whose 1999-born son is older than most of her fellow competitors.
She asked the judges to review the degree of difficulty points for her first vault, but her request was unsuccessful and her score remained at 13.199, just 0.251 points short of the podium.
Yet Chusovitina left the competition smiling. On the floor, she is fiercely competitive. Off it, she is calm and warm.
“I feel very good. I’m so grateful to everyone who supported me. I really enjoyed the competition today,” she said.
Japan has a special place in her life. She met her future husband, Uzbek wrestler Bakhodir Kurpanov, at the 1994 Asian Games.
“When I met him in Hiroshima, I never imagined he would become my husband. We married three years later, and next year will be our 30th wedding anniversary.”
Her life is about more than competing. In Tashkent, she also runs a gymnastics centre where she is involved in developing the sport.
Reaching the final in Nagoya has given her fresh confidence and a new goal of qualifying for her ninth Olympic Games. It’s been 34 years since she won that gold in Barcelona.
“This is my dream and my goal,” she said of Los Angeles 2028. “Today I realised that it is possible, that I can do it. So I’ll keep trying.”
Chusovitina laughed almost surprised when asked how she would like to be remembered.
“I’ve never thought about that. I simply do what I enjoy. What matters most is how I feel.”
Chusovitina is driven by her love of gymnastics. And perhaps that is what makes her the QOAT - the Queen of All Time. - 2026AsianGames website
