I mostly agree with that post, although it omits the fact that there is objective evidence that two of the Chinese gymnasts are younger than the age limit. That guy quoted in the interview sounds like a sexist idiot, and if the 16 yr old age limit was instituted because of audience's desires to ogle female gymnasts, it's wrong and should be scrapped.
The ideal body for women's gymnastics as it is currently scored is a point with zero mass and volume attached to four massless, infinitely flexible and strong lines to serve as arms and legs. The best approximation to this ideal is a strong prepubescent girl. Athletes, coaches, and nations have no incentive to conserve the athlete's long-term health, because she has a few years when she approaches this ideal and that's it. The 14-yr-old male diver has many more years and Olympics to compete; in fact his synchronized diving partner is 26. He's not going to try to detach his retinas to get a medal. But a 14 yr old female gymnast may well injure herself and wreck her quality of life for the rest of her life trying to get a gold. That partially explains why, currently, 14 yr old gymnasts need to be "protected" and 14 yr old male divers don't. If the incentive structure was changed, by say adding weight or age classes, or by changing the way women's gymnastics are scored, gymnastics could probably avoid paternalistic rules like the age limit.
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momijizukamori
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Date: 2008-08-15 10:30 pm (UTC)The ideal body for women's gymnastics as it is currently scored is a point with zero mass and volume attached to four massless, infinitely flexible and strong lines to serve as arms and legs. The best approximation to this ideal is a strong prepubescent girl. Athletes, coaches, and nations have no incentive to conserve the athlete's long-term health, because she has a few years when she approaches this ideal and that's it. The 14-yr-old male diver has many more years and Olympics to compete; in fact his synchronized diving partner is 26. He's not going to try to detach his retinas to get a medal. But a 14 yr old female gymnast may well injure herself and wreck her quality of life for the rest of her life trying to get a gold. That partially explains why, currently, 14 yr old gymnasts need to be "protected" and 14 yr old male divers don't. If the incentive structure was changed, by say adding weight or age classes, or by changing the way women's gymnastics are scored, gymnastics could probably avoid paternalistic rules like the age limit.