Why must all the olympic gymnasts be under the age of 18?

[TheMightyFavog]

[NightWatcher]

1. 36 year olds can't sommersalt like we used to

Or

Nobody wants to see 36 in a leotard.

[TheMightyFavog]

2. I dunno, I just saw Dara Torres qualify for the finals in the swimming trials.

She's still quite the looker at 45. And a damn good swimmer.

[treestar]

7. Only 36?

Picky, picky.

[pokerfan]

3. Physics?

Easier for a smaller, lighter body to spin and jump? At least they have to be at least 16 now, though there's really no objective way to enforce that. Perhaps there should me a minimum weight limit.

[hifiguy]

14. Yep. It's all physics.

Short, light, compact bodies can bounce around like racquetballs. Grown women can't do that stuff due to changed weight distribution.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

4. Ever notice that they look like little girls?

That's because they exercise so much that they don't produce estrogen and go through puberty. So even the 18-year-olds look like little girls and have squeaky voices.

I'm old enough that I remember when 14 year old Nadia Comaneci got a perfect ten on the uneven parallel bars.

[HopeHoops]

8. Me too.

[Art_from_Ark]

13. I remember Nadia Comaneci having her own theme song

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. Because if anybody much older than 18 tried that shit

they'd probably bust something.

[mythology]

6. Not really

Yes, they are better at gymnastics when younger, but I know a 34 year old guy who in less than a year has learned to do a round off into back tuck and a 40 year old who is learning to train on the rings, neither of whom did gymnastics previously.

It's hard work, but you don't have to be 15 and look like a stick, it just helps.

In short, if you think it looks cool try it. There's probably a local gymnastic training group in your area.

[femmocrat]

9. They don't have to be, but they are.

Nastia Liukin tried to make the team again and didn't do very well. She is only 22 and won the gold medal for best all-around gymnast in the 2008 Olympics.

Women figure skaters seem to meet the same fate. They just aren't able to defy gravity as much as the younger girls.

[undeterred]

10. Some sports evolve around the body type of the athletes

You notice the male gymnasts don't peak until they are in college. With the women, its more like "before hips" and "after hips". A mature female body has more fat on it than an immature one... therefore the younger women are more agile.
The qualities needed in other sports aren't quite as hard to meet.

[nolabear]

11. Cuz anyone over 18 would slap the crap out of those coaches.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

12. No kidding!

I remember reading about the U.S. female gymnasts at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. The coaches kept them on a strict diet and wouldn't let them go sightseeing in Barcelona for fear that they might eat something unapproved, so they had to spend all their non-competitive, non-practicing time in their hotel rooms. The male gymnasts, under no such restrictions, felt sorry for them and smuggled extra food into their rooms.

By the way, in the old days, female gymnasts were usually in their early twenties. That lasted until 1972, when 17-year-old Olga Korbut showed off moves that are now considered too dangerous for competition. Then along came 1976, when 14-year-old Nadia Comaneci again revolutionized the sport. Thus began the era of the teenage gymnasts.

[Go Vols]

15. Korbut Flip

[hifiguy]

17. That was one of those moments when the broadcasters

came totally unglued, like Al Michaels during the 1980 US hockey win over the Soviets and Katarina Witt's 1988 gold medal performance. At the latter, Peggy Fleming simply lost it and said "My God, just look at her!!" Game recognizing game, to be sure. Even Dick Button didn't have anything to add.

I still remember it and couldn't believe I actually saw the Korbut Flip with my own eyes. Jim McKay, IIRC, just wigged out.

ETA, it wasn't McKay, it was the color guy who sounded like he loaded his trousers. "No human has ever done that before!" (no sound at work)

[Lydia Leftcoast]

18. I saw it, too

[Rambis]

16. Injuries

I roomed with gymnasts at school and they were always injured. Now in their 40's they have serious problems with back and joint pain.

[Kaleva]

19. It cetainly is discrimination against those over the age of 81