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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The sport and the training are *super hard* on the body… your joints take a beating simply preparing for the Olympics. It’s like using your car as a race car everyday as opposed to a daily commuting vehicle… it just wears down much quicker.
As for the male/female age difference, I’d imagine it simply comes down to genetics/evolution and how male’s bodies evolved to be more tolerant to physical abuse (on average) for more years than females, considering the built-in systems that come with the ability to bear children for females into middle age and the need to hunt into middle age as a male.
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