Uzbekistan gymnastics legend Oksana Chusovitina competes in the women’s vault final at the Asian Games at the Nagoya General Gymnasium in Nagoya, Japan on September 24, 2026. Photo: Courtesy of organizers

Gymnastics legend Oksana Chusovitina left the vault final at the Asian Games without a medal, but the 51-year-old Uzbek told the Global Times that reaching the final had given her fresh confidence that her extraordinary career still has another chapter to write.

Chusovitina finished fifth in the women's vault final on Thursday with a score of 13.199. But she said the result was less important than making it through another major competition healthy.

"I'm happy that I finished without injuries and that I'm healthy," Chusovitina told the Global Times in an exclusive interview on Friday. "Every athlete wants to win a medal, but there are only three medals. And I know what I need to work on and where I need to go from here."

Her appearance in Nagoya was the seventh Asian Games of a career that began at the continental level more than three decades ago. At 51, she competed alongside gymnasts from generations far removed from her own.

Yet Chusovitina said she no longer approaches competition primarily through comparison with her rivals.

"I don't want to compete against anyone. I'm not at that age anymore, and I've already achieved everything I needed to achieve," she said. "Now I want to get enjoyment from competing."

But that attitude has not diminished her ambitions.

"At 51, I made it into the final," she said. "I think that's what makes this Asian Games different for me: I proved to myself that I can do it and that I'm doing the right thing."

Asked whether she still had enough left to make another Olympic bid, Chusovitina was unequivocal.

"Of course. We have so many reserves inside us. We just don't know about them yet," she said. "Inside me, I know that I have the strength. I can feel it. That's why I said I'm going to try to qualify, and I feel that I should be able to do it."

Her longevity has long made her a distinctive figure in international gymnastics.

She made her Olympic debut at Barcelona 1992 and went on to compete at eight Olympic Games, representing Uzbekistan and Germany during her career. She won an Olympic silver medal in vault at Beijing 2008 while representing Germany.

Although vault has become her competitive specialty, Chusovitina said she still trains all four apparatuses and remains willing to learn from coaches.

"Every day I try to learn something new," she said. "I always listen to the advice I receive in the gym. I believe that a person learns throughout their entire life, and there is always something new to learn."

Chusovitina said she sometimes looks at the younger gymnasts she competes against in international competitions with a touch of envy because she remembers being their age herself. "Of course, sometimes you would like to go back a little, but that's life."

Her own journey has also been deeply connected with her family. Chusovitina's son Alisher was diagnosed with leukemia in 2002, and she moved to Germany with her family so he could receive treatment.

Asked what gymnastics had given her beyond medals and records, Chusovitina offered perhaps her most personal answer.

"Gymnastics saved my son, who is alive, healthy and makes his mother happy," she said.