Chusovitina, who turns 49 on 19 June, will miss the Olympics for the first time since Barcelona '92, where she won team gold with the Unified Team, the successor to the Soviet Union.

"I have some bad news. During the podium training at the Asian Championships I injured myself during the floor exercise. I am very disappointed," the gymnast, who also won silver on vault at Beijing 2008, wrote on her social media.

Chusovitina is one of the last remaining active athletes in any sport to have represented the Soviet Union, for whom she won world gold in 1991 at the age of 16. The 48-year-old already holds the records for most Olympic appearances by a gymnast (male or female) and the oldest gymnast to compete at the Olympics.

Only one female Olympian has competed at the Games more times than Chusovitina. Georgian shooter Nino Salukvadze made her ninth Olympic appearance in Tokyo in 2021 and qualified for this year's Games in Paris.

She announced her retirement in Tokyo and received a standing ovation from the judges, athletes and spectators at the Ariake Gymnastics Centre, but months later decided to try to qualify for Paris.

Vault specialist Chusovitina needed a good score in the all-around competition at the Asian Championships to secure a place, which probably led her to push herself and cause an injury.

The gymnast, who trained in the Soviet Union, competed for Germany for several years (2006-2012), a country she moved to so that her son could receive treatment for leukaemia. She later returned to represent her native country.She has eleven World Championship medals, four European medals and eight Asian medals, almost all on vault.