Who was the oldest female gymnast to compete in women's artistic gymnastics events at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro?

In a grueling sport where most athletes retire from international competition before they reach their thirties, Oksana Chusovitina defied all odds and competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro at age 42, with her teenage son cheering from the stands. Chusovitina, born on June 19, 1975, began competing at the international level in 1989 at 14 years of age. She is the only female gymnast ever to compete in seven Olympic Games, and is one of only two female gymnasts to compete at the Olympics under three different national teams: the Unified Team in 1992; Uzbekistan in 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2016; and Germany in 2008 and 2012. Chusovitina has also competed in 10 World Championships, three Asian Games and three Goodwill Games. Chusovitina holds the record for the most individual world championships medals on a single event (nine, on the vault).

During the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, Chusovitina came in 5th on vault during the qualifying rounds, and 7th in the finals. She was one of just two gymnasts to attempt what’s known as the “vault of death.” It begins with a front handspring off the vault and transitions into two front somersaults, the Produnova, the move named after Russia’s Yelena Produnova. Chusovitina was the first of only five women to complete what is considered the most difficult vault in history. As the only representative of Uzbekistan, she competed in every event in the qualifying rounds.