Younger Vs Experienced: Is age more than just a number in gymnastics?
FIG President, Bruno Grandi, aimed to reform age restrictions and capping in 2010. His goal was to make women’s artistic gymnastics “women’s” artistic gymnastics. With the way things were in gymnastics, it had started becoming a sport for tweens and teens.
A rise in age requirement to 17 years for women’s gymnastics at the international senior level was a hot dispute for quite some time.
It provoked one to think what good an age cap is. What are the reasons behind wanting to promote a wider age bracket?
Five time Olympic gold medallist and President of FIG Women’s Technical Committee, Nellie Kim has one answer to this question.
In her experience, Kim noted that at 23, people had started hinting at her that it was time for her to retire, nudging her towards pulling out of gymnastics.
Today Kim appreciates the support older gymnasts (still exceptions) like Great Britain’s Beth Tweddle get. In reminiscent reflection she says she might have added to her accomplishments, had such support been shown to older gymnasts in her time.
However, is it just a support step or could the age cap also be aiming at preventing an “unfair advantage”, which redirects this discussion to the role age plays in gymnastics.
It seemed Grandi wanted to take things back to how they were prior to 1981. The youngest champions of that era would in today’s setting be considered old and nearing the end of their gymnastics career.
Agnes Keleti of Hungaria collected her individual gold medals in the Olympic Games of 1956. She was 35 years old at the time.
Larisa Latynina, who was the first gymnast to represent the great Soviet, obtained her first all-round title at 21 years of age. Subsequently she became a world champion in 1958.
It was not until the 1970’s that the average age of gymnasts started experiencing a gradual decline. And so the champions started getting younger and younger as the decades passed.
Back then, still relatively new to the issue of underage participation, the FIG made some exceptions to the rule too.
Canadian gymnast Karen Kelsall, for example, was allowed to compete in the Olympics legally when she was 13 years and 7 months old (5 months away from meeting the eligibility criteria of 14 years and above).
Fast forward to present day, where the likes of American gymnast Jordyn Wieber hold World Championships titles. At only 16 years of age, Wieber just meets the minimum age requirement sanctioned by the FIG.
Considering the history of the sport at least one thing is clear, that older age does not impede success significantly enough to completely halt it.
However, it will not be wrong to question the impact of youth of the performance in gymnastics. Does it really give the younger participants an unfair advantage over the older ones?
It is a scientifically proven and accepted fact that the human body has higher levels of flexibility in its earlier phases. In fact the flexibility decreases with age as the body gains more weight and height. For this reason, 8- to 11-year-olds adopt gymnastics
more easily.
It follows then that gymnastics, being based on the flexibility and movement of the body, is an age-sensitive sport, which makes a minimum age requirement necessary. Not to mention the growth-slowing effects of strenuous training on the human body.
As far as the question of unfair advantage goes, I would like to point out that the older generation of active gymnasts is not exactly an underdog race. They have their own set of advantages held superior over the younger ones.
The benefits of firsthand experience are exclusive to veterans. With age comes maturity, which permeates not only the personality of the athlete but also underpins their performance.
Russian gymnast Viktoria Komova’s reaction to the results announcement at the worlds this year is a standing example of the flipside to this. An older, more professional athlete would have acted out of grace and control even in the circumstances Komova found
herself in.
Such characteristics are shaped over time with age and experience in the field.
Moreover, years of practise bring a certain sixth sense about the consequences of one’s actions on the competition floor.
The thought process becomes more intense and farsighted – a quality which can be inhibitive as well as facilitative. While one can manoeuvre and protect oneself better, one is also more prone to fear due to consequentialist thinking.
Personally, I believe age should not be allowed to play too restrictive a role in gymnastics. Age differences would exist in gymnastics, like they do in any other sport and while gymnastics is age-sensitive, one should not make the mistake of attaching more
weight to this parameter than to skill.
Flexibility is a skill that can be developed.
Admittedly an older person will have to put in more effort as compared to a younger one to develop flexibility. Much the same way as lower-skilled athletes put in extra effort to improve their comparative standing next to those born with a naturally better
sense of balance.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
Tags: