Uzbekistani gymnast Oksana Chusovitina has officially retired after competing in the Olympics in each of the last four decades.
Of the contestants participating in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, no one is more experienced than Oksana Chusovitina.
The 46-year-old set set the record with her eighth Olympics appearance and received a standing ovation after her final event. She just missed reaching the final event after finishing with a 14.166 score.
Uzbekistan's Oksana Chusovitina has officially competed at her EIGHTH Olympic Games.
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 26, 2021
At 46 years old, she competed for one last time and received a standing ovation from her competitors. #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/qJgPTWICAD
Oksana Chusovitina owns the most Olympics appearances in history
Chusovitina first participated in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, five years before Simone Biles was born, where she took home a gold medal. She initially retired after the 2000 Olympic Games, but she came out of retirement in 2002 when her son was diagnosed with leukemia.
This is gymnast Oksana Chusovitina, who won Olympic gold in 1992! When her son was diagnosed with leukemia in 2002, she came out of retirement to raise money for his treatment. Today her son is 21 and this week he gets to watch his mom compete in her 8th Olympic games at age 46. pic.twitter.com/K7EowxgJ61
— Michael Yerxa (He/Him/They/Them) (@mikeyerxa) July 21, 2021
Standing ovation and not a dry eye in the house for the #ArtisticGymnastics legend Oksana Chusovitina 🇺🇿 as she takes her final @Olympics bow. The 46-year-old today became an 8⃣-time Olympian, competing on Vault for the last time at @Tokyo2020 ❤️#Tokyo2020 #Olympics pic.twitter.com/fjm3QNiK21
— FIG (@gymnastics) July 25, 2021
https://twitter.com/darcymaine_espn/status/1419229960787566594?s=20
Oksana Chusovitina 1992 Olympics floor. This is Oksana Chusovitina 8th Olympics!! No words to describe how impressive that is. Forever an icon. Wishing Oksana the best of luck! I’m so excited to watch. pic.twitter.com/bif8O8ZTna
— Alexandra Raisman (@Aly_Raisman) July 24, 2021
Chusovitina has both a gold and silver medal each in her Olympics career, and she has totaled 32 total medals since beginning her professional gymnastics career in 1991. She was inducted in the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2017.