Chinese gymnast's age issue in the olympics?

Question

there have been a lot of questions raised about the ages of the chinese women gymnast's ages. because they seem to look underaged. the minimum age for competing in olympic gymnastics is 16. but why is there an age limit, i mean, if a girl, possibly younger than the minimum age comes and win the gold, that just says she's good and better than the others. and everyone is focusing on how to strip her of her gold. why is there an age limit and why is everyone trying to strip this girl of her achievements?

Answer 1

They are going to take her gold because there is a rule. As far as why there is a rule I don't know.

Answer 2

Disclaimer: Personally I think that if you can compete with those older than yourself, then you should be allowed to.

Saying that, I think everyone is annoyed partially because of how well China is doing and it's a chance to take a shot at them but mostly because it's against the rules for anyone under the age to participate at all, thus they automatically forfeit and lose.  

Answer 3

Possibly the minimum age is to prevent exploitation of kids, but that would still happen regardless. I think there should be a limit, probably 12, otherwise we'll finish up with a bunch of 'cute ' 7 and 8 yr. olds winning the judges over because they are so young [ sympathy voting ].

Answer 4

If I can quote from Times Online it states that

"-there were criticisms that young girls were being pushed too hard at an age when their bodies and bones were still growing, causing permanent damage.-"

and

"There were also concerns about their mental health, because of the pressure of competing on the world stage at such a young age, and that they were vulnerable to exploitation and even physical abuse by coaches."

Also because, if there was no age requirement, older gymnasts wouldn't get a chance to play because of the high standards the younger ones have set and that wouldn't be fair. Also, the younger gymnasts who are good would inevitably get older and wouldn't get a chance to play when there's older.

Answer 5

The age limit is for safety reasons. The age was 14 many years ago, but it was changed in 1997 to 16. Plus, younger gymnasts have advantages over older ones because their body is more nimble, and they are more fearless. If the Chinese are cheating, that is terrible and disgraceful, and I believe that the girls will be stripped of her medals. I think this is the right thing, since they weren't following the rules.

Answer 6

most people agree that should be no age limit, that way the other countries could have brought their best gymnasts........regardless..of age.

Why should China get to pick the best of the best regardless of age and everyone else hast to pick from a pool of gymnatss that are older because they follow the rules.

If they were underage, that's an unfair advantage and the gold should be stripped. Don't do the crime of you can't do the time.

Answer 7

i think you are right! the olympics should let the people compete if they are good ! they shouldnt control the people by age they should compare the skill and if China is better, the US should not complain!!!! gosh!  hehe :)

Answer 8

You don't "earn" or "achieve" a gold medal by using underage girls that give you and advantage, you cheated to get that gold.

Earning a gold or "achieving" a gold is done by following the rules.

Many gymnasts all over the world younger than 16 are better than the girls over 16, if the Romanians had some 14 year old amazing gymnasts and couldn't use here, that's not right that the Chinese can use theirs. Unfair advantage.

Answer 9

what if the hacker guy that found the 'proof' of age is actually the one responsible for altering the birthdate?! The U.S. has more overall medals but China has more golds, so they want to disqualify them and move up a spot to get more gold medals...and many more conspiracies to come!lol this bitter sweet age controversy is pretty unfair but I think it's also unfair that usain bolt is much taller so his legs give him a bigger stride and lesser steps to reach the finish line and keri walsh is taller than most of the other players so she can easily block or hit the ball over the shorties.unfair height advantage.if they set limits on age, then they should also set body size limits like in boxing or separate the competitors by age/size category next time.

anyway, what annoys me the most is that the male volleyball players don't show off their s**y abs lol but female volleyballers get to show their you know whats.

Answer 10

The age limit is there for the safety of the competitors.  When you are younger, especially before puberty really takes off, there are growth plates at the ends of your bones.  Breaking joints during this time can lead to permanent disfigurement if the break damages the growth plates.  The stunts that Olympic level gymnasts perform are incredibly difficult and dangerous.

Should there be an age limit?  I don't know.  I don't know enough to make there a determination.

However, there is an age limit, and it needs to be followed by everyone.  Rules are Rules, and they should apply to everyone equally.

Answer 11

so if the U.S. had a bunch of amazing 13 year olds, they should not get to use them yet China should get to use their 13 year olds eh.

Wow, you foreigner are something else, immoral and whiny.

Answer 12

wow so many d**n american nationalists. Anyways I also think you're right. ALL the countries should be able to allow anyone who has skill and wants to participate at the Olympics regardless of age. Its too bad that China is owning American and America sucks balls compared to China. But then again, America sucks at many other things such as choosing their president.  

Answer 13

Being younger is considered an advantage in gymnastics since your body tends to be more flexible and compact.

The reason for the minimum age is because Olympic officials felt that younger children should not be subjected to the stress and rigors of training for the Olympics.

Therefore, the age limit in gymnastics prevents parents and coaches from pushing younger and younger kids to train harder to take advantage of their youth.

Regardless of whether you think the age limit is good or not, all countries need to follow the same rules or the competition is not fair. For example, if the U.S. was also allowed to field younger gymnasts, there may have been a talented 14 or 15 year old who would have trained harder and made the team instead of the 20 year olds.

The U.S. shouldn't be penalized for playing by the rules.