Age is the biggest problem in gymnastics

Too many young people offer too much in the pursuit of gymnastic success, says Bruno Grandi, President of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) who worries that many young athletes lead imbalanced lives because of too hard training and risk of burning out before the age of 20.

Gymnastics is a tough sport that requires immense discipline and physiology in order to succeed, Grandi said talking to FISU-AIPS – Young Reporters during the Universiade Shenzhen 2011, currently taking place in China.

“To learn these movements at a young age, that means many gymnasts train for six hours per day. That means they have no possibility to study or to have a normal life.”

“This is the big disaster of gymnastics - we have created from time to time the mentality that only gymnastics exists.”

Grandi also sees the often very hard training in gymnastics as a potential problem.

“I want there to be a human aspect of gymnastics and not just one system,” he said. “We are not teaching animals here; these are women and men. They need to have the maturity to understand what they want.”

Another concern is that athletes’ ages being falsified in order to let under-16 athletes compete in international competitions.

“This is another big social problem. Many times, we must consider the age of the athlete and whether they have modified their passport", Grandi said.
SOURCE: AIPS