Gymnastics Question?! Best Answer = 10 Pts.?

Question

Why do gymnasts need to be SHORT and LIGHT(I mean, muscle weighs a lot...)? Why is "being closer to the ground" better? Why do they need to be tiny. How come nobody older than 20 is in the olympics? Why does everybody think the older you are the worse? How come younger gymnasts are better? I was just wondering about these things...

Answer 1

First off it is always better to be closer  to the ground because  its a lesser distance to fall and there is a female swimmer that's in her 40s and she also won a medal.  Dara Grace Torres (born April 15, 1967) is an American swimmer.

Answer 2

It's harder to lose your balance when you're closer to the ground.  Basic physics.

They don't need to be tiny, but the way they train makes them that way.  You don't have to be long and lanky to be a marathon runner, but that's what training would do to you.

It gets harder as you get older, that's just obvious.  Right now, Shawn Johnson is 16.  She would have to train for the next four years to compete again.  People forget to consider the training required to stay at Olympic level.  It's not like they'll just wake up four years down the road and decide to compete.  It's grueling, and many people's bodies can't take the amount of strain.

Answer 3

well they dnt haveee to be short and light its just that when your tinyer you have more tumbling power. im short and have amazing tumbling power. nobody is old because the younger you are the more flexible you are.

Answer 4

Gymnasts dont need to be short, look at the usa chick nastia and Svetlana Khorkina they are pretty tall! the only reason gymnasts are short is because shorter people have slightly better co-ordination, and if they have been doing gymnastics since they were young it actually stunts your growth!

and younger gymnasts are better because they are at there peak age of fitness! just like older men gymnasts are better because they cant get there strength that amazing until there hitting there mid 20's!

and to answer the question how come no body is older than 20? there was a chick im not sure where from (a gymnast) and she was 33 with kids! haha so odd too see!!

but yeh age is all about their peak fitness!

Answer 5

Well 1st off there is someone from the Chinese girl gymnastic team that is  ACTUALLY 20. The older you get your muscle get tenser. But being small means you have less body mass to flip around in the air. But I know of a couple tall girls on my gymnastics team and they are on level 10.