With all the fuss over the Chinese gymnasts' ages, is there any advantage in using younger girls?

Question

Is a gymnast better at 14 than she would be at 16? Perhaps you might say that a younger child is more nimble and flexible, but a 16 year old is stronger, can jump higher, and has the benefit of a couple of extra years of training. Would the Chinese team have had a cheating advantage if their girls are indeed younger than they claim?

Answer 1

also when you have 4 inch feet the balance beam becomes less daunting of a task.

furthermore its a rule you shouldn't just break rules for the h**l of it.

Answer 2

There's only one way to find out their true age...carbon dating.  

Answer 3

no but there is an age limit rule which has to be applied to, the US may have 14 year old gymnasts who are better than those who competed in the olympics but werent allowed to use them because of the rule.  the underage girl that was in the chinese team was obviously chosen over older girls because she is a better gymnast than they are, so therefore if they had stuck by the rules their team would not have been as good and they may not have won the gold.

Answer 4

bottom line is that there IS an age limit that every country is supposed to follow.

Answer 5

Yes it does. The shorter you are the easier it is to do the flips. Also it easier for girls that smaller to stick their landing because less pressure is put on their ankles. Also the underage girls have less pressure they can come back one or two more times the average for the girl was 17.3 so Alica is 20 now next time would be 24 and on the US team it would be almost impossible. It harder to get on the Us team then other countries like Germany for women where they had a 28 year old compete  

Answer 6

Younger gymnasts: fearless, lighter, faster, shorter; so yes, an advantage. But not overwhelming; the best gymnast on team China, CHENG Fei, is an undisputed 20 years old.

Answer 7

loser like to complain.. thats what they do. do u see they complain luikin won gold at all around.. no.

Answer 8

no i think people hope the chinese r to young so then the team gold will go to the US.

Answer 9

there's really no advantage. it's just something for the losers complain about when they lose.

Answer 10

no but im sure americans will make up something as to why they have an advantage, theyre just hoping theyre underage so that they'll be stripped of thier medal and it will be awarded to the US which isnt going to ahppen because china is not cheating and the US doesnt deserve it

Answer 11

i dont get why people are saying that the IOC or whatever shouldnt look into their real age, yeah if they are good enough it wouldnt matter, but its the RULES.

and if you dont follow the rules then its called CHEATING!!

and what  country wants to be known for cheating at their own olymipics??

Answer 12

Of course they would have an advantage the younger girls were chosen for a reason. but what i absolutely disliked about the whole situation was they picked underage girls to compete. to be fair, i'm neither American nor Chinese although i come from a Chinese origin, and i feel that rules are rules and rules should be followed. it is unfair for them to win the gold medal when they have broken the rule. perhaps this proves that cheaters can win? how does it reflect the spirit of the Olympics?? perhaps every athlete should be allowed to use drugs???

Answer 13

There is a definite advantage over the smaller mass of the child over the adult.  It has a lot to do with physics and how things move.  The playing field is also not level because Chinese athletes are removed from their home at a very young age and trained by the state.  It's a shame that they ruin these girl's lives all for a gold medal.  I've listed a site by a professional hacker that proved that birthdates were fabricated, files deleted and a coverup was done.  I hope the OCC looks into this fraud and reverses their medals and gives them to the honest participants!

Answer 14

generally, gymnasts don't have a very long career.  My friend was a Australian Champ and she retired at 16.  

I know people can still do it after that age.....everyone's different I guess.

Answer 15

the biggest thing is fearlessness which younger gymnasts have, and since the chinese basically kidnap the potential gymnasts at 3yrs old and train them they are probably olympic ready by 11 or 12 and probably just as good as the 16 and older gymnasts except there more flexible and less scared and more prone to taking risks because they don't understand the gravity of the situation. also to all the people that are saying that the us are just complaining and that the chinese aren't cheating, "HAVE U SEEN THOSE GIRLS????" and RKO the us didn't complain when liukin won because she didn't cheat, in fact she got lower scores then she deserved and still won. USA all the way

Answer 16

I am Chinese and i don't know too much about artistic gymnastics but i find it ridiculous that someone said Chinese girls are taken away from their parents when they are 3 years old.i can't say our media is unbiased but  if think 3 years girl forced to train is true i can only say you are negatively influenced by your media or you don't know china.

In china parents like to send their children to sports school after class because they believe this will gain their children a edge over others in the fierce competition(1.3 billion in china) ,and if you are excellent you may get selected to province team and after years of profession training if you are brilliant you will get chosen to national team.Generally speaking,if you are talent and qualified for province team the government will pay for your training and accommodation even clothing.so parents only cover training expense before children become pros.and i think even if you are unable to become pro after years you will benefit a lot.For example my friend had received badminton training for 3.4years when he was young but never gifted enough to enter into province team. however it is easy for him to date beautiful girls,it is so unfair because sometimes he invite the potential girl friends to play badminton together those girls are always admire his

sports skills and it become easy for him to get the girls.

  

Answer 17

i don't think so, at 16 you are more mature, experience and stronger!.

There is concerns about weight, However Your weight correlates with your strength. At 14, you may be lighter but you are weaker. At 16 you may be heavier but you are stronger!

However, does this really sound logicall to anyone.... The Americans lost because the Chinese were younger?

Answer 18

not better but smaller and less developed bodies are naturally more aerodynamic.  you still have to work incredibly hard to be good though

Answer 19

Yes there is indeed an advantage. Basically, puberty. As you get older, your ligaments start to change making you less flexible and making it much more difficult to preform gymnastics. Underage gymnasts whose bodies haven't developed yet are much more flexible and can preform the rountines with more ease. The hormones of a woman who has gone completely through puberty change her body mass, hips and b***s get in the way. You need more muscle mass to overcome these things. Then there is also the clear size advantage.

Answer 20

There's an advantage and it's just something that wimps and loser cry about when they condone cheating, lying and forgery.

losers cheat, loser complain about people that call cheaters out, and losers whine and cry about Americans because of their countries low medal count.

Answer 21

If you compare a 24 year old with a 14 years old, yes, 24 years old are more experienced but less body flexibility. But if you compare a 14 years old 16 years old, no, actually 16 years old should have an advantage because she still have the flexibilty plus extra experience and skill.

However, rules are rules. If it is proven that the girls are really underage, they should be stripped from their medals. However, there is no solid eveident at the moment, only guesses and unconfirmed ruimors so far.

It is bias in the first place to estimate the age of these young ladies in the eyes of westerners. Asian, in general, looks a lot younger than their real age in westerner standard. The girls do looks very young even in Asian standard, but it is not impossible that they are 16, especially if they were in a special diet from a very young age, this could happen.

Anyone feel funny why some people keep saying we should stick to the rule when talking about the age issue and then the same group of people say the rule is wrong when talking about tie breaking???

Answer 22

Yes, they would have an advantage and medals would need to be revoked, not that I care anymore.

Answer 23

Well lets see if the US toddlers would stand a chance against the current US team.  If toddler gymnasts really have such an advantage, Luikin and Shawn would get their *** kicked by the US toddlers.......well in reality the toddlers would get their *** kicked.....so go and wonder....where's the advantage?

Younger gymansts=less experience, immaturity, less years of practice, error filled routines.

Answer 24

I don't think the age of the Chinese girls has anything to do with how well they perform. I think it has to due with the fact that these girls are taken away from their family at the age of 3 and forced to train everyday, 365 days a year for many hours. And the fact that they basically become public enemy #1 in their country if they do not win the gold.

Answer 25

no there is no advantage of using younger girls, but there is no real proof that they are underage anyways. Asians are usually younger looking because they are not fat like americans. You are right, a 16 year old is stronger, more mature, and more experience. so no, it is not an advantage.  

Answer 26

Perhaps you don't understand that when you have a larger pool of gymnasts to pick from regardless of age, you can choose your best gymnasts to compete on you home turf, without the worries of them being old enough because you can just forge documents.

why would china use underage gymnasts if they were not superior to older ones?

there was and advantage or China would not have used them and risked it.

Answer 27

younger girls havent had to deal with as many injuries as the older ones

and the routines are so hard on your body you only have so many in you

the stupid chinese are cheating and should get their medals stripped

and the goverment is covering up for them

and all the people who say that we are complaining are retarded because there is an advantage

and the reason the rule is in place is to prevent the chinese from doing what their doing which is taking away their kids when they are three and turning them into machines

Answer 28

If is true that younger girls typically are lighter and more flexible, which is an advantage in gymnastics.  Let's look at why the rule is 16 to begin with.  It is not universal that in every Olympic event that participants need to be 16.  In gymnastics, the rules were changed to add the age limit because it protects the competitors.  Prior to age 16, their muscles and bones are not fully developed, and the rigorous training can cause permanent damage.  Here is the real question that we should be asking: why was the IOC dragging its heels about the investigation into their ages and why was the Chinese government not cooperative?  If they had nothing to hide, they should welcome the authorities checking into the age discrepancy to prove to the world that they are following the rules and competing with a sportsmanship worthy of the Olympics.  Instead, websites that list the girls' ages are deleted, information goes missing.  It has nothing to do with who is in second place, although I must say that the US coaches are behaving in a deplorable fashion also unworthy of the level of sportsmanship of the OIympics.  They need to stop publically popping their mouthes off and let the IOC handle it.  If they don't follow the rules then it is cheating.