{
  "id": 9681289,
  "title": "51 and still flying: Chusovitina inspires Malaysian gymnast at Asian Games",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/51-and-still-flying-chusovitina-inspires-malaysian-gymnast-at-asian",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-25T02:37:41.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/sports/others/2026/09/1540704/51-and-still-flying-chusovitina-inspires-malaysian-gymnast-asian"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "NAGOYA, Japan — Young Malaysian artistic gymnast Marissa Zaiful was inspired to train harder after competing alongside 51-year-old Uzbek gymnast Oksana Chusovitina at the Aichi Nagoya Asian Games. Despite her age, Chusovitina outperformed 46 other younger athletes, securing a fourth-place finish in the women's vault event. At 18 and 17 years old, Marissa and her teammate Yeap Kang Xian were among those humbled by the champion's performance. Chusovitina, a three-time world champion and former Olympic gold medallist, finished fifth in the vault final with a score of 13.199. Marissa, who placed eighth with a score of 12.733, described the final as a nerve-wracking but valuable experience, as she competed alongside top gymnasts like Chusovitina. The young gymnast, born in Thailand but raised in Malaysia, hopes to make it to the Olympics one day.",
  "summary": "NAGOYA: Young artistic gymnast Marissa Zaiful is inspired to work even harder in training after competing alongside Uzbekistan’s legendary Oksana Chusovitina at the Aichi Nagoya Asian Games.",
  "key_points": [
    "51-year-old Oksana Chusovitina competed at Asian Games",
    "Malaysian gymnast Marissa Zaiful inspired by Chusovitina's performance",
    "Chusovitina secured 4th place in women's vault event"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Competing alongside Chusovitina has inspired Marissa Zaiful to train harder, as the young Malaysian gymnast learned from the experience of performing with a champion she humbled despite being decades younger.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}