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

[Anonymous]

She is.

[Anonymous]

Yes, there's definitely some correlation of body type and ideal gymnast:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/hi/sa/newsid_3577000/3577460.stm

[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.

Katarina Witt did plenty more than one kind of triple jump in her competitive career. Look it up and don't spew facts that can't be supported by the truth.

[Anonymous]

Too butch looking (upperbody-wise at least) for me.

[Anonymous]

Kyla Ross is like 5'6 now or something. She is tall (to me). So is Ashton Locklear, so is Maggie Nichols. But it is hard to be tall in elite gymnastics because you can't set the equipment. In NCAA you can change the equipment settings and we have a lot more gymnasts in the 5'4 to 5'7 range. The majority of gymnasts in any given population will mostly be under 5'4 regardless. Natural selection.

I don't believe it stunts growth overall or that there's any way to predict. There's no way to set up an alternate reality so we may never know. At just over 5', I'm taller than both maternal grandmothers and my mother, so I doubt it stunted my growth. Even if it did, I can't see what the difference would be. I wouldn't choose to have not done gymnastics and be taller, so it really doesn't matter.

[Anonymous]

Now we're body shaming and feeling "bad" about our record breaking amazing female gymnasts?? Seriously???

[Anonymous]

I think that any of them, if offered the chance to change places with the average-bodied common person who has done nothing special or remarkable with her life, would heartily refuse.

Who is to say that average overweight body of the non-Olympian American is any healthier in the end?

[Anonymous]

A couple of them on the American women's team are 5'2". That's taller than I am.

[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

Aly looks like a giant in the photos.

[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.

We just have better sports bras these days.

[Anonymous]

I think they look gorgeous. They are healthier in then past years in terms of being able to eat more/put on more muscle. They used to check their bags for hidden food at the Karolyi ranch and they stopped doing that years ago - it's been a cultural change with educating them more about what fuels their body and them being able to not deprive themselves given they weigh more and have more muscle - it's a sport more focused on power now. (Though shawn johnson did admit to having some eating issues, some of this was while she was doing DWTS after the Olympics - she struggled with her changing body).

I think they look great - and it's a short time in their life for most of them to train that much. And as someone posted upthread, the 1996 team look great!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Now we're body shaming and feeling "bad" about our record breaking amazing female gymnasts?? Seriously???

It's quite extraordinary.

[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.

We just have better sports bras these days.

+1

[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.

We just have better sports bras these days.

I don't think you've looked much at pics of gymnasts today. I think of half a dozen off Olympic gymnasts off the top of my head who appear to have bigger breasts than any of the women pictured in those links. It is, indeed, a difference in sports bras.

I wear a 34B bra (hardly impressive, but no one would ever say I don't have breasts), and I am flat as a pancake--F-L-A-T--in my sports bras.

[Anonymous]

I worry about the pounding their joints take day in and day out. If we can heard the sound they make whenever they land, it must be loud. That over years and years cannot be good for the body.