The mother of all gymnasts: Rio salutes incredible athlete who is competing in her SEVENTH Olympics... at the age of FORTY-ONE (2)

So long is her career that the majority of her Rio rivals were not even born when she was a member of the triumphant Unified Team, representing former Soviet republics, in 1992.

Oskana stretches out her arms and legs during the floor exercise at the Goodwill Games in 1994, where she competed for Uzbekistan

There was certainly a lot of love in the Rio Olympic Arena for the oldest ever gymnast to compete at a Games.

The cheers were loud and prolonged when the venue's MC introduced the Uzbek as 'a living legend' and the volume went up a few notches as she sprinted down the runway before launching into her first vault - a layout front somersault with 1-1/2 twists.

A hop back on landing did little to dampen the mood and a score of 15.166 proved that she was not in Rio to simply celebrate competing at a record seventh Olympics for a gymnast.

Chusovitina competes on the floor in the women's individual all-around final title at the Arena in 2006, this time for Germany

Wearing a pink and white shimmering leotard, her toned arm muscles were in full display as she lifted off for her second vault -- a double twisting Tsukahara -- which earned her 14.833.

'I really love the sport, I love to give pleasure to the public. I love to come out and perform for the public and for the fans,' said Chusovitina, who has competed under the Soviet Union, Unified Team, German and Uzbek flags during her career.

The age-defying gymnast takes to the uneven bars during qualification at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 for Germany

Asked how she rated her performance, she assessed: 'I'm alive I'm well and that means everything's okay.'

The Uzbek's gymnastics lifespan defies logic as the next oldest competitor in Rio after her is 32-year-old Vasiliki Millousi from Greece.

She also took part in London 2012, again competing for Germany, this time on the beam

While Chusovitina does not think what she is doing is that remarkable, 1996 Olympic champion Kerri Strug said it was 'unbelievable' that one of her contemporaries was still going strong.

'Kudos to her for being so disciplined with her diet, staying lean and mean at that age. It only gets harder to compete with these youngsters but she's doing it,' the American told Reuters.

'She's had a child, and to keep getting into a leotard and stay in such phenomenal shape. To be able to bear all that pounding over the years, I don't know how she does it.

'In gymnastics, it usually one or two Olympics but seven? It's just crazy.'