Be aware: That is Half IV of a 4-part collection.
Hyperlink to Half I
Hyperlink to Half II
Hyperlink to Half III
When FIG raised the age minimal in 1997, it most actually helped elevate the ages much more. However general, it was solely a small a part of a a lot bigger pattern. To this point I’ve targeted on 5 main occasions that had been additionally altering the standard age demographics together with the age minimal change of 1997.
Gutsu v. Miller
The legacy of Olesia Dudnik
The autumn of communism in Europe
Abolition of compulsories
Introduction of specialists
Not solely did these 5 occasions coincide with the introduction of a raised age minimal, they coincided with one thing else. The 1996 Olympics was merely a foul yr for younger gymnasts. Coming into 1996 the media fawned over the 14 yr previous Dominique Moceanu of the USA and Alexandra Marinescu of Romania who was competing as a 16 yr previous however was truly solely 15 years previous (age falsification). They had been extensively touted as medal contenders.
However neither Moceanu nor Marinescu achieved widespread success on the 1996 Olympics within the particular person occasions. There was additionally the absence of Viktoria Karpenko (Ukraine) and Elena Produnova (Russia), two kids from the 1995 World Championships who would obtain success within the late Nineties, however had missed the 1996 Olympics completely.
Whereas the younger stars of 4 main powers all faltered, the gymnasts who didn’t falter had been the returning veterans. Throughout All-Round {qualifications} the highest spot went to Lilia Podkopayeva, an athlete who turned senior in 1993. However of the seven gymnasts who took the #2 via #8 spots behind her, all however considered one of them was a veteran of the 1992 Olympics. The one one who wasn’t, Dina Kocheteva who was senior eligible for Barcelona-1992 however didn’t make the staff as a result of she was a part of the extremely highly effective Soviet program.
All of those gymnasts had delivery years between 1976-1978, with the overwhelming majority coming in 1976 or 1977. This “1976-1978” era dominated the top-8 in qualifying, they usually went on to dominate your complete Olympics.
Of the 16 particular person medals gained on the 1996 Olympics, just one medal went to a gymnast who was below the age of 17. This in an Olympics the place 14 yr olds had been eligible to compete.
2 of 16 medals (13%) went to a Sixth-year senior
6 of 16 medals (38%) went to a Fifth-year senior or older
10 of 16 medals (63%) went to a 4th-year senior or older
15 of 16 medals (94%) went to a Third-year senior or older
Younger gymnasts, particularly those that had been both a 1st or 2nd yr senior had been largely shut out of the person medals throughout Atlana-1996. The youngest All-Round medalist on the 1996 Olympics would have been the oldest All-Round medalist in 1992 by almost a yr. The dominance of older veterans in Atlanta-1996 might not look all that important in comparison with fashionable instances, however in 1996 the timing couldn’t have been any extra good.
Proper as quite a few components had been all coming collectively to set off a rise in age, you get this 1996 Olympic end result showcasing the prevalence of growing old veterans and what they had been able to. There was additionally Svetlana Boginskaya, who completed 14th within the All-Round and didn’t win any medals in Atlanta. However Boginskaya turned the primary feminine gymnast since 1976 to grow to be a 3x Olympian. It was not simply the truth that this milestone had been reached for the primary time in twenty years, however the gymnast who reached it.
Boginskaya was a former All-Round Champion, had a number of Olympic gold medals to her identify, and within the 1993-1996 Olympic cycle was being coached by Bela Karolyi, essentially the most high-profile coach within the sport. The milestone didn’t go to an obscure gymnast from a low rating nation, however one of many greatest names within the sport. Making certain everybody would take discover of the rising pattern that older gymnasts had been as soon as once more the leaders of ladies’s gymnastics.
And it occurred one yr earlier than the brand new age restrict went into impact.
The final triumph of older veterans on the 1996 Olympics the place all of them took such seen roles didn’t have a major influence on growing the age demographics of the game, however they helped encourage the following era as to which course the game would progress. It was a spark that began the momentum for future change. The identical is true for the lasting legacy of Gutsu v. Miller, and the autumn of communism in Europe. These had been tendencies that helped form the mindset of coaches within the Nineties to look in a brand new course, however they stop to be related within the present period.
The “Slingshot Impact” that I liken to Olesia Dudnik, the abolition of compulsories, and the introduction of specialists had been Nineties period had been creations that proceed to have a profound influence within the present period. As for the precise rule requiring a 16-year previous age minimal, it actually contributes to creating the statistics skew even older, however it isn’t the primary supply of the pattern.
If determine skating needs to attain the identical success as what gymnastics achieved, it wants greater than merely a change to its age guidelines. The game will solely pivot away from baby athletes when it finds a method to undermine the very foundations and tradition that makes its baby athletes excel within the first place. Girls’s gymnastics achieved this feat, however solely by dumb, blind luck.
The success ladies’s gymnastics achieved with ushering out its “little woman” period wasn’t intentional or a fastidiously orchestrated plan. It was quite a few components coming collectively at roughly the identical time that created the proper situation for a brand new demographic to take maintain. Whether or not FIG wished it or not, the game was on the verge of change getting into the Nineties. And alter the game did.
It’s baffling what number of stars appeared to completely align within the mid-Nineties which all had the impact of encouraging older gymnasts. However on the identical time, so many stars aligning for gymnastics is why ladies’s gymnastics has so been profitable in pivoting away from baby athletes whereas different sports activities have been unable to take action.
Gutsu v. Miller
The Olesia Dudnik Slingshot Impact
The autumn of communism in Europe
Abolition of compulsories
Introduction of specialists
The success of older gymnasts on the 1996 Olympics
The 1997 age improve
Be aware: Under are hyperlinks to all 4 components this collection
Hyperlink to Half I
Hyperlink to Half II
Hyperlink to Half III
Hyperlink to Half IV
