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1、AgeingOlympicgymnastsHowthegymtwigletsgrewupAug1st2012,15:56byA.McE.··THEmoreelderlycouch-gymnastsamongusareinspiredtoseeOksanaChusovitina(pictured)stillvaultingmerrilyawayattheageof37.MsChusovitinaisUzbek-born,andhas competedacrosssixOlympicsfortheSovietUnion,thenat
2、ionalUzbekteamandnowGermany,heradoptedcountry.Admittedly,sheisanoutlier:mostfemalegymnasts,includingyourcorrespondent,havemovedonfromcompetitivegymnasticslongbeforetheirthirties.Butonehearteningaspectofthisyear’sOlympicsistheextenttowhichgymnasticcareers,whichwereoft
3、enbrutishandquiteshort,havelengthened.Formanydecades,thesporthooveredupyoungwomen,withcoacheslookingforspindlypre-pubescents,inthebeliefthataslightbonestructureandlowcentreofgravityweretherecipeforchampions.Ithadnotalwaysbeenthisway.Inthe1950sand1960s,whenHungary’sAg
4、nesKeletiandtheSovietUnion’sLarisaLatyninawongolds,theypeakedintheirlatetwentiesandthirties.Butasdifficultyincreased,coachesadoptedapreferenceforscrawnyteenagers.OlgaKorbutwas17whenshesprangtofameattheMunichOlympicsin1972,andNadiaComaneciwasjust14whenshewonhergoldsin
5、Montrealin1976.Atthesamegames,theAmericanteamfieldedKarenKelsall,a13-yearold.Thisstrucksomeasexcessivelyyoung,althoughnoonehasconclusivelyprovedthatbashingthebarsforseveralhoursadayisanyworseforyouat12than16.Afterafewyearsofmovingthecriteriabackandforth,theFederation
6、InternationaledeGymnastique,whichsetsthecriteriaformajorcompetitions,decreedthatgirlsmustbe16.Inpractice,theruleisasbendyasagymnast’sback.ThoselikeBritain’sRebeccaTunney,whoarewithinafewmonthsoftheir16thbirthdaywhenmajortournamentsloom,areallowedtocompete.Oneconseque
7、nceofnominalqualifyingageswasthatsometeams,notablyChina,foundthemselvesaccusedattheBeijinggamesoffalsifyingthebirthdatesofcallowcompetitors.TheChineseteaminLondonemphasisethattheiraverageageis19.5(thoughthathardlyshedsmuchlight;thekeyaccusationwasthatdocumentshadbeen
8、falsifiedtostartwith). Ingeneral,though,teamsarebecomingmoreage-balanced.Thisputsfemalegymnastsmoreintolinewithmen,whohavealwaysbee
