Prior to 1981, the minimum required age to compete in senior events sanctioned by the FIG (including the Olympic Games) was 14.
Larisa Latynina, the first great Soviet gymnast, won her first Olympic all-around medal at the age of 21, her second at 25 and her third at 29; she became the 1958 World Champion while pregnant with her daughter.
While it was not unheard of for teenagers to compete in the 1960s — Ludmilla Tourischeva was sixteen at her first Olympics in 1968 — they slowly became the norm, as difficulty in gymnastics increased.
Kelsall, with her December 1962 birthday, was five months shy of the requirement but was turning 14 within the Olympic year, and was granted a special exemption by the FIG to compete.
[4] Such exemptions were not automatic, however: American gymnast Tracee Talavera, who was named to the United States team for the 1979 World Championships, was deemed ineligible to compete due to her age of 12+1⁄2 years.
[5][6] In response to the changing demands of the sport, at the 58th Congress of the FIG, held in July 1980 just before the Moscow Olympics, the minimum age was raised from 14 to 15.
On the one hand, proponents such as Jeanne Doperak, a sports medicine physician at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, contend that "[a child gymnast's] immature skeleton just isn't ready to handle the day-to-day stresses that will occur",[9] and that the stresses imposed on only partly developed muscular/skeletal system by gymnastics are almost certain to cause damage that would persist into adulthood.
[12] Lesions, which are precursors to stress fractures, occur in 11% of young female gymnasts, compared to 2.3% of girls and women in general.
Young gymnasts at these levels are often pressured to perform by coaches and parents,[11][13] and ex-gymnasts have spoken out about behavioural and psychological problems common to the sport.
According to official statements from the FIG, "the accepted proof of a gymnast’s eligibility for competition is a valid passport issued by the country of residence.
[18][19][20] In several cases, gymnasts involved in age falsification have verified that they did in fact compete under forged passports provided to them by their federations.
While some members of the sport, such as former USA Gymnastics president Bob Colarossi, have expressed support for the age limit of 16, others, such as coach Béla Károlyi, have heavily criticized it.
[25][26] Opponents of the rule have countered that by barring younger gymnasts from top level meets, they are denying them valuable competitive experience.
This has frequently taken the form of inconsistently reported birthdates; at other times, speculation has been raised due to the young appearance of the gymnasts.
In reference to the falsifications of the early 1990s and 1980s, the head of the Romanian Gymnastics Federation, Nicolae Vieru, was quoted in 2002: "Changing the ages was a worldwide practice ... we copied this from others.
However, there have only been three cases, those of Kim Gwang Suk in 1993 and Dong Fangxiao and Hong Su Jong in 2010, where the FIG has elected to take any action against a gymnastics federation for age falsification.
"[22] Physically, younger gymnasts, particularly those who have not yet gone through puberty, tend to be lighter, smaller, more pliable and flexible, which aids them in performing more complex skills and gives them a better strength-to-weight ratio.
When a gymnast hits puberty, growth spurts and weight gain may affect her centre of gravity, causing mental and physical stress as she must adjust, and in some cases relearn, her moves to compensate.
The North Korean Gymnastics Federation submitted inconsistent dates of birth for Kim at various competitions, claiming that she was 15 for three consecutive years.
Silivaş, a resident of the Atlanta metropolitan area, revealed the falsification to the media in 2002 during her Georgia marriage licence application.
However, it was discovered that her accreditation as a technical official at the 2008 Summer Olympics, where she worked as a vault secretary, listed her birthdate as January 23, 1986.
[30] Hong Su Jong (North Korea), the 2007 World Championships silver medalist on vault, was investigated for age discrepancies in 2010.
The FIG responded in October 2010 by provisionally banning North Korea from competition for one month, which effectively barred them from the 2010 World Championships.
[45] Multiple age investigations were conducted at the urging of media, as well as United States Olympic Committee executive Jim Scherr and International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge,[46][47] and the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) found that the gymnasts had met the age requirements and were eligible to compete.