Asian Games

On the 22nd, at the Nagoya City General Gymnasium, the Asian Games gymnastics women’s individual qualifying competition was underway. A vigorous figure was preparing to run, and the host called out her name. Only then did some viewers discover that she was the 51-year-old “Qiu Ma” – Uzbekistan veteran Chusovitina.

This is her seventh Asian Games appearance. Starting from Hiroshima in 1994, she has participated in six Asian Games and won a total of 8 medals, 2 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze.

Compared with medals, Chusovitina’s more well-known story is her love for her son as a mother and her love for gymnastics as an athlete.

At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, at the age of 17, she and her teammates won the women’s team gold medal. In 2002, her 3-year-old son was diagnosed with leukemia. In order to pay for the high medical expenses, she began to compete frequently. For better treatment conditions, she chose to play for the German team. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 33-year-old represented the German team and won a silver medal in the vault. Just before she left Beijing, good news came: her son had recovered.

When everyone thought she would stop, she chose to stay on the field.

At the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the 46-year-old will stand on the Olympic court for the eighth time. She missed the 2024 Paris Olympics due to a calf injury. In February 2025, the 50-year-old announced her comeback. A month later, she won the vault gold medal at the World Cup in Baku with a score of 13.516.

On September 18, “Qiu Ma” posted on her personal Chinese social account: “I’m coming to the 7th Asian Games!”

In the Nagoya City General Gymnasium, “Qiu Ma” stood there, with her fingernails painted in the colors of the Uzbekistan flag. With a score of 13.266, she qualified for the vault finals with fourth place in the qualifying rounds.

After the game, she walked into the mixed mining area with a bright smile. When asked when she would say goodbye to the competition, she smiled and asked: “What, don’t you want to see me again?”

She said that what attracts her most about gymnastics is the competition with herself. “When I defeat myself, I get a huge sense of satisfaction. If my actions inspire others, I’m also very happy. It’s very important to me to do what I want to do.”

In 2017, Chusovitina was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame and is still the only member who is still competing after being inducted. Chusovitina will be 53 years old in 2028, and she has not ruled out the possibility of participating in a ninth Olympic Games. “I will try my best to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. As long as it is possible, I will participate in that competition and I will work hard to reach the standard.”

Over the past 32 years, her opponents have changed from generation to generation, and now those competing against her are girls born in 2005 and 10.

But Chusovitina does not think age is a problem. She feels that she is “getting smarter every year.” “As long as I’m enjoying it, as long as I can do it, why should I stop?” she said. “It’s great to be able to compete with the support of such a big crowd. I’m not competing with anyone, I’m just enjoying the process.”