Older athletes (older like in the mid-late 20s or even 30s) will be stronger, faster, more disciplined, more experienced, than their 14-16 year equivalents. Is it just flexibility? There are circus contortionists and yoga enthusiasts that are incredibly flexible into their 30s or later.
I can’t think of any trait unique to gymnastics that other sports don’t also require to explain why gymnasts are so dang young, particularly the women’s. Men’s gymnastics seems to have a much older average age.
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Square-cube law. It’s easier for smaller people to move their own body weight around. Until they reach adulthood, younger people are smaller than older people. Male gymnasts get a big strength boost from puberty,
so they will usually be physically mature. Female gymnasts don’t get that, in fact puberty will often degrade their potential. So from a physical standpoint, the younger and smaller they are, the better. There are actually minimum age limits for major competitions, and cases where countries have falsified the ages of female competitors to get around those rules.
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