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Divers dive into the water. Gymnasts land on their feet. Hard. Doing that repeatedly (say over 1000 times) can be damaging. Diving in the water is diving in the water. How injurious can that be, unless you land wrong.
Divers dive into the water. Gymnasts land on their feet. Hard. Doing that repeatedly (say over 1000 times) can be damaging. Diving in the water is diving in the water. How injurious can that be, unless you land wrong.
Probably true, but irrelevant. Each sport makes its own decision. I'd personally rather not see children competing in the Olympics. Even 16 is young.
as a former gymnast, gymnastics judge and current team coach and competitive gymnast mom, I am all for the 16yr old age requirement. Its true, theres some girls that couldve been there, done that and done it wonderfully, (ie. Nastia the last olympics!) but i think the overwhelming majority benefits more w/the min. age set.
That is, of course, as long as people are following the rules......
I applaud the Chinese. They have been gracious hosts for the Games this year. .
Really? Did you try to take a sat phone or literature into China? Did you try to wear a Free Tibet T-shirt to a venue? HMMM?
cbs11tv.com - Customs Officials In China Confiscates 300 Bibles From American Christians (http://cbs11tv.com/national/china.seizes.bibles.2.797329.html - broken link)
And the Chinese either stole the tickets or did not sell them.
It was the most superficially stunning Olympics ever. I enjoyed them immensely, but I had the feeling that there was a very seedy underbelly at play. I'm sure we'll hear more and more stories. Good thing we aren't in China writing this.
They said on Dan Patricks show they put two seventy year old women in work camps for trying to protest. Yea this country knows the true meaning of the Olympic spirit MONEY.
The age restriction was instituted b/c of public outrage during the 1992 Olympics regarding how small the gymnasts were. It should not be changed, IMO. Gymnasts are prone to eating disorders as it is; if the Olympic gymnasts had to compete with 14 yr olds (for example) it would just encourage more gymnasts to develop EDs, especially as they get older.
I agree with those points.
I disagree that 11 yr olds have less fear than the older girls. They may not be as aware of the consequences of a serious injury, but they are more fearful, I think.
It is not a matter of protecting the under 16 year olds. It is the fact that there is a distinct advantage to using younger girls in gymnastics. The reasons are cited in another post from a couple different sources. In essence: they have no fear, they do not get as nervous b/c they have no contemplation of the enormity of what they are doing, they are more flexible, and their bodies are less "broken down." [Yeah, it may not make sense at first blush, but these are all established facts which is why coaches try to sneak in underage girls.]
So, it is not about protecting the girls. It is a matter of having an unfair advantage by using the young ones. It's cheating. Period.
and...
Quote:
I understand what you are saying about verifying age. The problem in this particular case is that there were actually two sets of documents and the Chinese cannot explain why.
Found the stuff on the youngergymnasts from the other post. My better half was a gymnastics coach for several years and gave me the same explanation before someone posted this --
Why do younger gymnasts have an advantage?
They're lighter. The best gymnasts must be short and muscular with low body fat, which gives them a high strength-to-weight ratio and a greater ability to lift themselves into the air. Girls reach their ideal ratio before puberty; after that point, between ages 14 and 18, they gain weight and have difficulty keeping up their strength. Some coaches also believe that younger gymnasts worry less—making them psychologically less encumbered as well.
On Monday, former Olympic coach Bela Karolyi accused the Chinese of fielding 12- and 14-year-old gymnasts. If true, this wouldn't be a new practice: China's Yang Yun, for example, confessed during an interview on government-sponsored television that she was only 14 when she won two bronze medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. (LINKS ARE NOT MINE)
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