The BIGGEST Age Scandal in Gymnastics... #gymnast #gymnastics

[thebestgymnastics]

Milk teeth = baby teeth.

She had the front two teeth missing during these competitions, and looked considerably younger than the stated age.

[JustASongCoverGuy-rulw]

People blamed her? My immediate thought was “poor kid”

[sallydaniel]

It's such a shame she got caught up in a scandal that wasn't her fault. She was such a great gymnast

[dorkeol]

Imagine the amount of training and exhaustion she faced at only 11

[BookishDark]

I can only imagine how brutal her training was. You don’t become that flawless at something at that age in that era without abuse playing a major role

[KieranO]

That poor kid must’ve been pushed way harder than any kid should be considering she was up against people almost twice her age and still being phenomenal

[jhutch]

It's not the 11 year old who is responsible for the lie.

[qvyti]

people act like the 11 year old was making these decisions.. her country’s team was just corrupt and used her

[crazifyit]

The person posting this should have included that this girl was North Korean and if she hadn't done what she was told her entire family was going to be killed! She wasn't a willing participant. She was forced into doing what her parents told her to do and she was forced by her parents because they were forced by the government under penalty of death. There were no choices for her. Please make that very, very clear!

[maggiecunningham]

That is so sad I’m sure she was pressured into doing it, it must have been so stressful

[rosspalmer]

When she competed at the olympics in 92 it was rumoured then that she was 12, the video shows her at the 1989 world championships which means she could’ve been 9 or 10 here, which is insane considering her skill level was so high

[CottagecoreBihexual]

One reason gymnasts' ages were falsified is because younger gymnasts were believed to be more fearless than older gymnasts. Also because they're younger, they're easier to manipulate, which means their coaches could push them to do do more dangerous moves to bring home the gold.

Another reason a lot of female gymnasts back then (and even today) looked young, is because many were malnourished and dealing with eating disorders. It stunted their growth, and also prevented a lot of them from either hitting puberty or fully experiencing puberty. So, while many were in their late teens, they resembled prepubescent girls.

[RedOtterFive]

I can’t even fathom the pressure she was under poor child

[alexbregy]

Imagine if they didn’t make her compete so young and soil her name. If she waited until she was 17, how good she would’ve been

[tiffanypersaud]

They’re too young to be tumbling around like that, their musculoskeletal systems are still developing rapidly and injury and long term damage can affect them more. Her country and team was heartless.

[d.n.]

Today’s gymnastics has moved past the stage of getting more flips and rotations by forcing the girls to maintain extremely low body weights and suppress puberty. Now the trend is for the girls to propel themselves by building muscles. That’s why the girls are mostly older now and have longer careers. Thus, these tiny prepubescent girls aren’t as advantageous to modern gymnastics as they were in the 80’s. Not to mention modern gymnastics has different rules and apparatus compared to a few decades now (for example, the uneven bars are farther apart, which lends itself to different tricks than what was done in 70’s and 80’s). And the “old school method” also led to many scandals in which children were used and abused.

[MIssSpaceCadette]

Punishing a CHILD for the actions of ADULTS is just ridiculous

[lnter_steIIar]

She claimed that she lost those teeth after 'falling off the beam once, '

[teena-adijay]

Her delayed development could be a result of malnutrition....to have those skills at 11 is hard to imagine.

[AFSVS]

Yet one of the best gymnasts in the world.