Oksana Chusovitina’s hope of competing in a record-equalling ninth-straight summer Olympic Games has been ended by injury.
The 48-year-old Uzbekistan gymnast would have equalled the record set by Georgian shooter Nino Salukvadze who is the only Olympian to have competed in nine consecutive Games.
Canadian equestrian athlete Ian Millar is the only person to compete at 10 Olympics, which he did between 1972–1976 and 1984–2012, winning one silver medal in 2008.
Chusovitina confirmed that she had sustained an injury while practising her floor exercise before the Asian Championships in Tashkent.
The event was Chusovitina’s last opportunity to qualify for the 2024 Games in Paris.
“My dear friends, fans and everyone who loves gymnastics, unfortunately, I have some sad news for you,” Chusovitina wrote on Instagram.
“While training I was injured. I will not be able to take part and I am very upset as I have been preparing for this competition for a long time.”
Salukvadze is hoping to feature in her 10th in Paris after qualifying for a quota place.
She was 19 years old when she won gold at the 1988 Seoul Olympics for the Soviet Union and she then won bronze in 2008 for Georgia.
Chusovitina first competed at the Olympics in 1992 and won a gold medal with the Unified Team of athletes from post-Soviet nations.
She represented Uzbekistan at the next three Games but, after moving to Germany when her son was diagnosed with leukaemia, she gained citizenship and switched allegiances.
In 2008, Chusovitina won her second Olympic medal, a silver in the vault while representing Germany.
She switched back to Uzbekistan for the 2016 Rio Olympics and qualified for the delayed Games in Tokyo in 2021.
