<p>Any idea what low body fat does to a pre-pubescent girl? And those gymnasts have very little body fat during a crucial time of normal growth. Plus they were probably going to be on the smaller side anyway - that’s one of the factors that made them likely gymnasts to begin with.</p>
<p>hey just saying I’m 16 and around 4’11.5"-5’ and around 105 pounds
I have quite a few friends who are around my height/weight/age, but it does seem kind of wierd that nearly all olympic gymnasts are tiny
on the other hand being small is a plus when it comes to gymnastics, so perhaps is kind of a “natural selection” type issue. just like most basketball players are ridiculously tall, most gymnasts tend to be short. </p>
<p>and btw I actually used to do gymnastics until I was around 12, and I used to be really good. I was offered to train competitively but I never did and I stopped shortly after that.</p>
<p>I am also very small – 4’11 and 105 pounds. I weiged less than 100 pounds till I had my second child, so I’m not judging. Shawn johnson’s parents aren’t small, and she is incredibly muscular, which leads one to think that she surely was well-nourished. If it is because of too low body fat (which is what I think), thaen that should be cause for concern for future gymnasts.</p>
<p>I read somewhere several years ago that the impact from all of the tumbling in gymnastics from such an early age leads to compression of the spine and stunted growth of the bones. Combine that w/ the almost non-existent body fat and even the naturally small girls are smaller than they would have been.
There is a condition called the Female Athletic Triad and it is very damaging to the health of young female athletes, causing brittle bones, amennorhea, and a host of other problems. I highly doubt that when a female gymnast is on the Olympic track anyone is really caring to notice if she is menstruating or not (one of the first signs).</p>
<p>It’s interesting to see what happens once these girls go off to college and/or stop competing. They usually grow several inches, gain weight, grow breasts and otherwise complete their puberty.</p>
<p>I think there are so many tiny gymnasts for the same reason there are so many tall basketball players. Being tiny is an advantage when flipping, etc, so the small kids do the best. Just like being tall is an advantage in basketball (or volleyball) so the best players are tall. Doesn’t mean basketball players took growth hormones or gymnasts had their growth stunted. Out of thousands and thousands of kids doing these sports, those that end up being the best are those who work hardest AND who are naturally gifted with a body type that works for that sport.</p>
<p>Great thread!</p>
<p>I, too, have watched with concern the darker side of the Olympics. I love to see Michael Phelps swim, but when I hear that his coach started to train Michael seriously at 11, I can’t but think of the thousands of kids who were encouraged to swim all year, every day, at a young age. I love sports but sometimes we adults squeeze all the joy out of a sport in the unlikely hope that a child will get a scholarship or be in the Olympics. For every Michael Phelps there are so many more who spent hours in chlorine without any tangible payoffs. If they were happy and enjoyed the sport - whole different story - but it can become such a grind for so many.</p>
<p>Worknprogress: Watching Synchro Diving they were interviewing the No 1 diver in the world (from China - Don’t ask me to spell the name) and she said when she was young she was afraid to dive so the coach pushed her off the diving board. Then she went on to say she always hated diving but trained anyway to please her parents and coaches. How many kids are there like that? </p>
<p>I see this often as my youngest D is in the Dance world. So many parents with dreams bigger than their children’s. One day I heard a mother and daughter arguing bc the daughter did not want to miss several days of school for ballet rehearsals and the daughter finally said to her mother “School is more important!! This ballet thing doesn’t mean as much to me as it does to you!!” There are so many I see just like this. Nice kids whose parents desire to have their child be the best far outweighs the child’s talent and desire to achieve. Particularly in the sports world there are a lot of people making money off of these types of parents. I have heard stories where parents of 4 year olds are told their daughters have potential to become Olympic athletes if only they start training and competing right away (and ofc, this always comes with a hefty price) while the parents have stars in their eyes so big they don’t see that the gym they are paying thousands a year for their precious future gold medalist has never even put out an Olympic contender. I almost wish we had the Socialist ideal, where training was paid for by the government and kids were handpicked for their potential by experts. By no means a perfect system (not by far) but saves a lot of broken hearts and empty wallets.</p>
<p>“Oh, and I also enjoy the more obscure sports. Watching Field Hockey now and my D and I are dying for the Badminton and Table Tennis to be televised.”</p>
<p>I love Men’s double in badminton. It is non-stop action. My interest in both badminton and table tennis is to see who can put a dent or two to the Chinese Armada.</p>
<p>I am always for the little guy. My hope is for Malaysia to pick up her first gold medal in history. Her best chance this year will probably be in men’s single (badminton). I just think that a gold medal to Malaysia means a lot more to Malaysia than another one (of many) for China.</p>
<p>Did you all see Montenegro tie Hungary in water polo???!@!!!</p>
<p>YES! Water polo is fabulous - though the burly men with mustaches and funny caps is a bit of an odd look. Having a D who played it through high school has given me a new appreciation for the sport - what goes on under the water is not pretty, nor does it make for good dinner time conversation. It is one tough sport. </p>
<p>The drugs are a shame. The borderline abuse some of these athletes subject themselves to (and are subjected to) is not pleasant. But I can’t help it - I AM an Olympics junkie-always have been and always will be.</p>
<p>Did you hear all the talk during the gymnastics competition tonight that, small stature aside, there are many that doubt that some of the Chinese girls are even 16, which is the age you have to be to compete. Don’t know how you would be able to prove or disprove it though…</p>
<p>What another poster said about the triad is correct - after my D went to camp at the OTC in Lake Placid for the first time and was coached by a college runner who had never gotten a period, she started to worry, since she has never been regular. She drinks tons of milk though, so I don’t think we will have the bone problem…</p>
<p>Re stunted growth: the heavy training schedule for elite level gymnasts can result in damage to the growth plates on the bones, similar to stress fractures. See: [Stress</a> changes of the distal radial growth plate: A radiographic survey and review of the literature – Caine et al. 20 (3): 290 – American Journal of Sports Medicine](<a href=“http://ajs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/20/3/290]Stress”>http://ajs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/20/3/290)</p>
<p>Good article exploring the down side of competitive gymnastic here:
[Op-Extra</a> Guest Columnist - The Throwback - Creep Show - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/09/opinion/09bissinger.html?ex=1376107200&en=cbb9aae00fb7e219&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink]Op-Extra”>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/09/opinion/09bissinger.html?ex=1376107200&en=cbb9aae00fb7e219&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink)</p>
<p>OK, wow, I’m watching the 33 year old German gymnast. Amazing. Maybe 22 year olds aren’t washed up after all…</p>
<p>RE: how training destroys gymnasts’ bodies–Mary Lou Retton had both her hip joints replaced while in her 30s!</p>
<p>^^Wasn’t it Mary Lou who did the jump off the “horse” with a broken foot at one of the Olympics? There’s a Visa ad with that clip in it with a Morgan Freeman voice-over describing the joys of competition. Just too weird!</p>
<p>I think that was Kerry Strug who performed with a broken foot. I just can’t imagine that kind of dedication!</p>
<p>I had no idea about Mary Lou having her hips replaced!! </p>
<p>Those Chinese gymnasts look all of about 9 years old. My D said that last night they made a mention of how a couple of them are younger than 16 but my house is always chaos and couldn’t hear the reason why and not even sure she heard correctly.</p>
<p>This morning on the radio they said that a lot of the athletes are using a combination of (are you ready?) Viagara and Nitrous Oxide bc they found it enhances their performance!! And it is completely legal according to the rules to use these things.</p>
<p>A couple of former Olympic gymnasts have come out recently with heavy criticism for the sport and, in particular, for the Karoly training methods leading up to the Olympics. Pretty much these girls are alleging mental and physical abuse at the Olympic training center. I cannot remember the name but one of the girls wrote a book, she was a pretty famous gymnast in her time.</p>
<p>I believe that Carly Patterson grew 6 inches after she retired. We saw her two years post Athens when she was signing autographs at a meet and she was hardly reconizable (she’d gained weight, too, but not in a bad way.) But look at Alicia Sacramone…still short, but definitely the curves of a woman.</p>
<p>I do think that some of it is self selection. The taller girls often are timid and afraid on bars, because they are afraid they are going to hit the other bar. I haven’t seen anyone do that, but it messes with their heads.</p>
<p>I would encourage any gymnastics fans out there to go to a college gymnastics meet. Gone are the prepubescent bodies. The competitors have the bodies and the power of grown women. Bars is so powerful, it’s just spectacular. It’s almost like watching a different sport.</p>
<p>Last night after several US gymnasts had trouble stepping out of bounds on the floor exercises, we wondered if the tiny gymnasts have an advantage of just having more room to tumble. (The US gymnasts aren’t that tall, but seem to “tower” over the Chinese.)</p>