Ageless legend Chusovitina will compete in the 2025 Tashkent Gymnastics Challenge Cup on her 50th birthday

With eight Olympic appearances, more than 30 years of gymnastics and numerous medals in major competitions, Uzbek gymnastics legend Chusovitina will add another milestone to her legendary CV this week: 50.

The legend of immortality Chusovitina

The gymnastics icon will celebrate his 50th birthday on Thursday, June 19 on the second day of the International Gymnastics Federation Challenge Cup in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Earlier this year, Chusovitina said in an interview with the official Olympic website that the tournament on her home turf was her top priority this season. "I'm going to be turning 50 in June, and it's time for Tashkent to host a tournament and it's the World Challenge Cup. I really want to participate and I've been working hard to prepare. She said in an interview in February. The most important thing is to avoid injuries and stay healthy. ”

However, injuries have always been Chusovitina's biggest challenge. At the just-concluded Asian Gymnastics Championships, she withdrew from the vault final after completing her first jump on Saturday, June 14.

In this regard, Chusovitina said in an interview with the official Olympic website on Monday, June 16: "Everything is fine. I just decided to conserve my energy and prepare for the next races. Now everything is working and I'll race in Tashkent. "I'm fine, I'll compete in Tashkent."

Last year, due to injury, Chusovitina was unable to compete in the Asian Gymnastics Championships on Uzbek soil – the last qualifying event before Paris 2024.

Chusovitina admits that the injury hit her very hard. 'That injury hit me hard because I really put in a lot of effort. "And the competition was again in Tashkent, so I really wanted to have a good performance in front of the people in my hometown, in front of people in my country." It's a pity that none of this came to fruition, and that's where my morale really hits. ”

Despite the disappointments and lows, Chusovitina, as always, once again regrouped. "When I started training again, my body was like saying 'welcome back'. I'm training every day now and when I look at these kids in my gymnastics academy, I get even more motivated. I'm really happy training with these kids, they give me a lot of energy. ”

Thanks to her perseverance, Chusovitina has already achieved a good 2025 season: bronze in vault at the World Cup in Ketbus, Germany, in January, and gold in vault at the World Cup in Baku in March.

While she says her current plan is to take it one step at a time, she has made no secret of her long-term goal: to compete in Los Angeles 2028 for the ninth Olympic Games. "My number one goal is to go to Los Angeles." Chusovitina, who is determined to do so, said. "But that's still a long way off, I won't think about it that long now, take it one step at a time, one step at a time. If it can be achieved, it is naturally the best; If you can't, that's okay too. But I'm going to try for it and give it my all. ”