Well, it’s not an exact parallel. But we do make certain rules to protect young helpless animals, and I’d certainly call a twelve year old Chinese gymnast a young helpless creature who can’t say no, I don’t want to do this to my body.
There is no fucking way those girls meet the age restrictions, and shame on the toothless Olympic organizers for allowing them to compete. If that one girl (her name escapes me but you all know the one I’m talking about) is older than 13, I will personally eat a 1964 Dodge Polara and put it on Youtube. Hey, I know, maybe a French figure skating judge vouched for them… :rolleyes:
When I clicked this thread title I was expecting to see something that’d give me a boner. Well, no dice. God damn you.
Women mature physically- particularly in terms of bone and muscular growth- much more quickly than men. There have been at least a dozen 14-year-olds who were ranked among the top 10 players on the WTA Tour.
One of the commentators on NBC said the issue is that the kids are sometimes started at a very early age (as young as three in China), and their bodies can take only so much pounding. So the rules were put in place to protect younger ones against being trained to the point their bodies break down in their mid teens.
I guess it would be the same with horses. Start them too early and they break down at a young age.
My wife suggests you put a pedophile on the judging panel, and if he gets a Hard-On, its an automatic “DQ”.
That was an awful joke, but I’m still laughing…
Why is it so surprising that some activities offer an advantage to competitors who are extremely light, small and flexible? The difference between now and the past is a matter of training – the talented kids are identified younger and put into intensive training programs younger.
Had these practices started 50 years ago, we would have a 50 year history of gold medalling 12 year olds. I’m not quite sure why a sport’s legitimacy depands on the age of the participants.
Maybe they should offer double dutch rope jumping as a sport more suited to kids. OTOH, a bunch of adults would try to do it too so they could kick the kids’ asses.
I agree that these gymnasts do not look 16.
However, as an opposing anecdote:
I have a 14-year-old niece who looks no older than eight. Maybe ten at the most.
Yes, her parents have sent her to endocrinologists. So far, they haven’t found anything specific wrong with her, just that she’s a late bloomer.
My point is that it is possible.
Ed
Oh, thank goodness. That’s what I was afraid to say, though I thought I came close enough. I mean, what kind of a “sport” are we running here, when it’s predicated mostly on the softness of small bones? Why can’t events cater to the long and strong and learned rather than the lightweight and brainless tiny pinwheels who don’t know any better? Never mind: I know. Women mature faster. Moreso than whoever (or whatever) you’re comparing them to.
Lets cut them in half and count the rings.
I’ll split them in half! 
Second, in a Triad of Tasteless Jokes!
There’s a big difference between 12 and 14. Besides, I’m sure those 14 year old tennis players are pretty physically advanced for their age. The girls we are talking about though are still physically young girls. 4’6" and 68 pounds? There’s no way a girl that small should be able to compete at an olympic level in a sport.
I guess my response is basically that it shouldn’t. By almost every measure, the 18 year old women competing are going to be more athletic than the 12 year old girls. They are stronger, faster, quicker, and can jump higher. In every other sport, this would provide a tremendous advantage. Can you imagine that little girl playing football, basketball, baseball, hockey, lacrosse, soccer, any track and field, tennis, or really any other sport you can come with? It would be no competition. I don’t know how women’s gymnastics got to such a point, but it’s really ridiculous. It’s not this way with the men.
My wife used to coach gymnastics. The thing that stands out to her is how robotic some of the girls look when they’re doing dance moves (not tumbling) in the floor exercise. She claims that that was characteristic of younger gymnasts. It takes some time to develop the grace and fluidity that older girls have in those portions.
Regardless, here’s a recent NYTimes story on some of the Chinese girl’s ages. . .
A tidbit. . .(keep in mind, “He” is the name of a Chinese gymnast)
The other thing that happens with female gymnasts is that when they hit puberty, their center of mass changes - puberty is a bad time for most gymnasts as their bodies are constantly changing - and when you are throwing yourself into the air and flipping about, two inches an hips change how that works.
But yes, there is a “sport” - in fact a few of them - that you are “better” at as a child if you are female - male sports often reward height and strength - which men gain through puberty. Traditional ‘women’s’ sports often don’t reward height, and our strength isn’t tied to testosterone.
I do not understand how a girl can have an advantage over a woman. Girls have less muscle mass per kilowatt (or whatever). Adult muscles are stronger for a unit of weight. I suppose I am wrong, but it seems a woman would have it all over a girl.
Gymnastics is not so much about strength as flexibility and balance, particularly womens’ gymnastics. Obviously strength plays a role, but not as much as in most sports.
Smaller things rotate faster.
Also, with the way that breasts and asses develop, I don’t know if I believe that women have higher power to weight ratios (watts per kilogram) than well-trained youngsters.
Women’s gymnastics stresses (or at least used to stress) grace over athleticism. Compare men’s floor ex to women’s. Men tumble. Women dance with tumbling, to music. Balance beam is as much about grace and fluidity of motion as tumbling. No pure strength events like rings or horse.
I for one am shocked, shocked to hear that the Chinese are cheating at the Olympics. If there’s any country with an international reputation for honesty and integrity…
Pictures, dammit! How can I make an informed judgement without pictures!
I haven’t seen the gymnasts, but I do see someone (Chinese) at work who looks between 12 and 14. She’s around 4’8" and very slight. She’s 37.