Odd Olympic age Limit?

Question

Okay, I have been paying attention to the Olympics since I '92 (there were the first olympics I can remember.) Now, I know for a fact that the universal age limit is 16, or at least your 16 in the year of the olympics. So how on earth is diver Thomas Daley able to compete, even though he did loose miserably.

Thank you.

Answer 1

In January 2007, at the age of twelve, Daley was given a special dispensation to compete at the 2007 Australian Youth Olympic Festival. The usual minimum age is fifteen.

Answer 2

ive always thought it was 16 and i read somewhere that you can compete if you are or will turn 16 in the year of that particular olympics...but Thomas Daley is 14 so i dont know how that works :/ maybe it is because he is not diving on his own, but in sync with another diver?

Answer 3

There is no age limit for athletes at the Olympics. Under International Olympic Committee (IOC) rules, international federations governing each sport may set age requirements.

I believe you're taking the age issue in gymnastics (most specifically the Chineses) and confusing it with the requirements in diving.

The gymnastics governing body set the age limit to be no younger than 16 during the Olympic year.  This was a safety issue that the international community came up with. They deemed it was not adviseable for athletes that were still developing muscularly and skeletally to compete in the Olympics. (I don't know why. They have World Junior Championships. What's the difference?)

Swimming and diving have no age limit. There's no safety issue that FINA (the international governing body) feels should limit the age. The best athlete independent of their age should compete.

Hope this helps.