On Facebook, Inside Gymnastics commented on another rule change by the International Gymnastics Federation.
… a raising of the age limit for artistic male gymnastics. Citing the International Olympic Committee’s Youth Olympic Games rules and following “heated debate,” the FIG voted to raise men’s age limits to 18 for senior competition (i.e. World/Olympic), starting January 1, 2013. (The beginning of the next Olympic cycle.) …
I do like the very long lead time on changes like this.
But – I’m confused – does this mean the Men’s age requirement is different than the Women’s age requirement?
If so, that would mean that male gymnasts need even more protection from over-training at a young age than female gymnasts.
Anyone in the sport can tell you that coaches push far less in Men’s gymnastics as there is far less rush to peak for the career.
This looks like yet another bad decision by FIG.
Yet one that will have very little effect in the real world as most Seniors competing internationally are of that age now.
But there are exceptions:
… Multiple past men’s World and Olympic stars have been under 18, notably Dmitri Bilozertchev, who won Worlds at just 16 in 1983 with what many consider the most dominant performance in history, and China’s Feng Jing, the youngest-ever men’s World champ in 2001. (Also 16, Feng was several months younger than the December-born Bilozertchev.) …
Feng Jing did not make the 2008 Olympic team. But he just won the Chinese National Championships.
The original FIG Council Official News blurb dated May 26, 2009.
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Wasn’t Kolyvanov pretty young as well when he started competing internationally?
Honestly, I think putting the requirement at 18 makes sense, simply because of the addition of the junior level to FIG. If juniors can simply compete as seniors, what is accomplished by adding a junior division?
I bet it means that soon, very soon the FIG will change the women’s age requirement so they are in line with the men!
oh don’t even get me started….we’re now having a junior olympics (doesn’t that put some pressure on juniors’ hmmmm?)…so now, reflexively (does FIG do ANYTHING strategically?) they raise the age limit to 18.
oh, and Rick, did you see the part where the “Council” is pondering the appropriate group to evaluate/elect TC members? mmmmm, aren’t these the same (broadly speaking) dimb bulbs that went along with Bruno’s desire to eliminate TECHNICAL ASSEMBLIES (in order to consolidate ‘authority’) a decade ago?
i don’t think even the Tae Kwon Do people under that South Korean guy awhile back was even this f—-d up.
I think you’re right, Sher.
Part of Grandi’s long term strategy.
There’s no issue on the Men’s site. No reason to enact this rule for MAG. Likely it’s part of a series of events to make the WAG age-18, something Grandi’s said he’s wanted for a while.
“we’re now having a junior olympics”
Junior Olympics is only in the US (as far as I know) and is actually a very low-key event. Often held at a convention center, it’s fancy/elaborate in name only (using the term Olympics). Having been a JO participant myself, I can say it is a competition most athletes only use to say they’ve had the opportunity to compete nationally. It’s low key in that most of the competitors know they have little chance of winning or even medalling.
At age 16, Li Xiaopeng made his international debut at the 1997 World Championships, where he won the team gold medal, bronze medal in floor exercise (behind gold and silver medalists Alexei Nemov and Dmitry Karbanenko), and silver medal in parallel bars (behind gold medalist Zhang Jinjing).
Also at age 16, Xiao Qin got a silver medal on pommel horse (behind gold medalist Marius Urzica) in the 2001 World Championships.
I think it’s safe to say that there is really no physiological advantage for younger male gymnasts over gymasts in their early twenties. This new rule serves no purpose other than to punish the truly talented.
In response to MS, there is actually a world Junior Olympics scheduled, not just for the US.
I also don’t really see any problem with increasing the minimum age for MAG.
Actually, the reference was to the NEW Youth Olympic Games, I believe.
The first one will be held in Singapore …
http://www.singapore2010.sg/sports/26sports/gymnastics
And yes, this defeats everything Bruno Grandi has tried to achieve by delaying the age of the girls at important international competitions.
Also Fabian Hambuechen was only 17 in Athens. Its debatable whether or not he would be the star that he is now if he had not had that formative experience.
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