I know this sounds awful but I feel bad for the female gymnasts

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's a 41 year old gymnast from Uzbekistan competing in the Olympics, who's had a couple kids.

Oksana Chusovitina - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oksana_Chusovitina

Yes, and she was a headliner because of her age....def not the norm.

[Anonymous]

It's not just gymnastics. I remember watching a TV show on Tom Daley a few years ago and his coach explained that they had to strictly limit the number of full practice dives he did during training each day because he was going through puberty and they didn't want the repeated impacts with the water to damage his growth plates and stunt his full adult height. I had no idea this was a thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to agree, that the intensive training clearly stunts their growth, when they are naturally small to begin with. Simone Biles is 19 years old and 4'8". I have heard of older gymnasts finally growing a little after they ease up on the training but I doubt she will ever be 5 feet tall.

Does their training stunt their growth, or is it that the ones who get taller drop out as their height increases?

I think their training stunts their growth, but I also think competitve programs try to target kids who will likely fit the body type by focusing more attention on smaller kids and kids whose moms are small.

They aren't going to focus a lot of extra attention on a 99% five year old who is the size of third graders and whose mom is 5'10".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not just gymnastics. I remember watching a TV show on Tom Daley a few years ago and his coach explained that they had to strictly limit the number of full practice dives he did during training each day because he was going through puberty and they didn't want the repeated impacts with the water to damage his growth plates and stunt his full adult height. I had no idea this was a thing.

Ballet does this now too.

Reputable programs will not put a pre-puberty girl into point shoes to avoid damaging their growth plates.

That wasn't the case years ago when I danced or when my MIL danced. She had point shoes around age eight, as did all her classmates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to agree, that the intensive training clearly stunts their growth, when they are naturally small to begin with. Simone Biles is 19 years old and 4'8". I have heard of older gymnasts finally growing a little after they ease up on the training but I doubt she will ever be 5 feet tall.

Does their training stunt their growth, or is it that the ones who get taller drop out as their height increases?

The training stunts their growth- scientific fact. https://www.quora.com/Does-gymnastics-stunt-growth

Thats what you call scientific?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd rather have an elite gymnast body snd be shorter than the sholders competitive (and even not so competitive) swimming develops. Have a friend who used to swim w the 96/00 swimmers before she decided not to go full olympic prep and she can't find blazers /jackets/coats easily at all, 20 years later.

I was a world level figure skater even though I decided to leave the sport before the Olympic level. I dropped it because I wanted more time for school and other activities that the 24/7 Olympic training schedule would demand. I took modified gymnastics as part of my training and got to train with the 1984 and the eventual 1988 Olympic gymnastics team. They were all tiny with broad upper bodies and seriously worked themselves to the bone. Now in my 40s I have aches and pains from my time on the ice I can only imagine how some of these women must feel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many look horrible. I miss Khorkina and Liukin. 5'2" and 5'5".

Khorkina looked horrible. She may have been taller but she was emaciated. I will take a muscular Gabby or Laurie over the gaunt, unhealthy gymnasts from previous generations any day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They look fantastic to me. But I'm an athlete. My view may be distorted.

How tall are you? Most of those girls are the height of an average 10-year-old.

They're not all that short. Aly raisman is 5'2" and so is Madison Kocian. Laurie Hernandez is 5'0". That's short but not off the charts short. Simone Biles is the shortest in the US team by far

Yep. Madison Kocian is also 5'2". McKayla Maroney & Kyla Ross were both 5'4" by the time they retired from gymnastics (they were both 5'2" when they competed in the 2012 Olympics).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They look fantastic to me. But I'm an athlete. My view may be distorted.

How tall are you? Most of those girls are the height of an average 10-year-old.

They're not all that short. Aly raisman is 5'2" and so is Madison Kocian. Laurie Hernandez is 5'0". That's short but not off the charts short. Simone Biles is the shortest in the US team by far

Yep. Madison Kocian is also 5'2". McKayla Maroney & Kyla Ross were both 5'4" by the time they retired from gymnastics (they were both 5'2" when they competed in the 2012 Olympics).

Oops! Just saw that the poster before me had already mentioned Madison Kocian's height.

[Anonymous]

Short gymnasts is something that's desired for their center of gravity, like tall rowers are for crew.

Gymnasts used to have boobs though:
http://www.sportslook.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/SD-LarisaLatynina-1.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/9f/db/bb/9fdbbbae4d1c68ac76b9390113ad9a16.jpg
http://i.usatoday.net/sports/_photos/2012/07/30/Gymnast-ready-to-hand-medals-title-to-Phelps-L81VEQ61-x-large.jpg

A lot of them don't b/c they exercise so much it delays the onset of puberty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Short gymnasts is something that's desired for their center of gravity, like tall rowers are for crew.

Gymnasts used to have boobs though:
http://www.sportslook.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/SD-LarisaLatynina-1.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/9f/db/bb/9fdbbbae4d1c68ac76b9390113ad9a16.jpg
http://i.usatoday.net/sports/_photos/2012/07/30/Gymnast-ready-to-hand-medals-title-to-Phelps-L81VEQ61-x-large.jpg

A lot of them don't b/c they exercise so much it delays the onset of puberty.

Boginskaya who competed in the early 90s had curves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Short gymnasts is something that's desired for their center of gravity, like tall rowers are for crew.

Gymnasts used to have boobs though:
http://www.sportslook.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/SD-LarisaLatynina-1.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/9f/db/bb/9fdbbbae4d1c68ac76b9390113ad9a16.jpg
http://i.usatoday.net/sports/_photos/2012/07/30/Gymnast-ready-to-hand-medals-title-to-Phelps-L81VEQ61-x-large.jpg

A lot of them don't b/c they exercise so much it delays the onset of puberty.

Boginskaya who competed in the early 90s had curves.

Exception to the rule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, I actually had no idea that the training stunted their growth - I've always just assumed it was one of those sports that attracted people of a certain size (like basketball and tall people.) It seems really disturbing ....

Don't let ignorant posters on the internet fool you. First it's genes THEN it's training. You've got to be born with a specific body type (as for all athletic activities - for example swimmers tend to be tall with large hands and feet), you can't stunt a 6 footer to a 4.5 feet size

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Short gymnasts is something that's desired for their center of gravity, like tall rowers are for crew.

Gymnasts used to have boobs though:
http://www.sportslook.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/SD-LarisaLatynina-1.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/9f/db/bb/9fdbbbae4d1c68ac76b9390113ad9a16.jpg
http://i.usatoday.net/sports/_photos/2012/07/30/Gymnast-ready-to-hand-medals-title-to-Phelps-L81VEQ61-x-large.jpg

A lot of them don't b/c they exercise so much it delays the onset of puberty.

Boginskaya who competed in the early 90s had curves.

The technical complexity of the sport has increased to the point that girls with curves can't be a part of it any more. It's the same with figure skating. Katarina Witt was the last skater with tits but only had one triple jump. Now, when 8 triple jumps in the long program are the norm, only those with a certain body type make it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Short gymnasts is something that's desired for their center of gravity, like tall rowers are for crew.

Gymnasts used to have boobs though:
http://www.sportslook.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/SD-LarisaLatynina-1.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/9f/db/bb/9fdbbbae4d1c68ac76b9390113ad9a16.jpg
http://i.usatoday.net/sports/_photos/2012/07/30/Gymnast-ready-to-hand-medals-title-to-Phelps-L81VEQ61-x-large.jpg

A lot of them don't b/c they exercise so much it delays the onset of puberty.

Boginskaya who competed in the early 90s had curves.

The technical complexity of the sport has increased to the point that girls with curves can't be a part of it any more. It's the same with figure skating. Katarina Witt was the last skater with tits but only had one triple jump. Now, when 8 triple jumps in the long program are the norm, only those with a certain body type make it.

What are you talking about? Hernandez certainly has curves.





I think she is lovely.