When did they change the age requirements for gymnists?

Question

I heard that a Gymnist must be 16 at least by the end of the olympic year.

Nadia Comaneci was 14 when she scored a perfect 10 at the 1976 Olympics

Answer 1

1996...it became 16

Answer 2

1996 I believe. Comaneci's story is one of the reasons it changed. Forced to train from 4 for 8 hours a day, no schooling, the impacts on her health and body for years and years later.  

Answer 3

1997 I believe.

Answer 4

1997

Answer 5

Age falsification has been a problem in gymnastics since the 1980s after the minimum age was raised from 14 to 15 to protect young athletes from serious injuries. The minimum age was raised to its current 16 in 1997.

North Korea was barred from the 1993 world championships after FIG officials discovered Kim Gwang Suk, the gold medalist on uneven bars in 1991, was listed as 15 for three years in a row. Romania admitted in 2002 that several gymnasts' ages had been falsified, including Olympic medalists Gina Gogean and Alexandra Marinescu.

Even China's own Yang Yun, a double bronze medalist in Sydney, said during an interview aired on state broadcaster China Central Television that she was 14 during the 2000 Games.

At the age of 14, Comaneci became one of the stars of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. During the team portion of the competition, her routine on the uneven bars was scored at a 10.0. It was the first time in modern Olympic gymnastics history that the score had ever been awarded.  Over the course of the Olympics, Comaneci would earn six additional 10s, en route to capturing the all-around, beam and bars titles and a bronze medal on the floor exercise.

Answer 6

The age was raised to 16 in 1997.  

Before the 1970s, this wasn't much of an issue because the average age of the best gymnasts was much higher than it is now.  (All Olympic champions were in their 20s or 30s.)  Before 1981 the minimum age was 14, although exemptions could be granted.  (Nadia Comaneci competed in the 1976 Olympics).  In 1980, just before the Moscow Olympics, it was raised to 15.  It was raised again to 16 in 1997.  Gymnasts must reach the minimum age in the Olympic year to be eligible to compete and win.  

The rule exists to protect girls from being pressured to risk injury and other serious problems to train and compete.  It protects not only the few girls we see on TV, but many other girls you'll never see in competition because they don't end up being good enough for the team or get injured or disabled.