Gone are the days when female gymnasts showcase fit but feminine physiques, tall stature, obvious breasts, wide hips, and are less masculine. In recent years, short, young, and strong gymnasts are becoming more prominent in competitions.
Dvora Meyers, author of the new book titled "The End of the Perfect 10: The Making and Breaking of Gymnastics' Top Score - From Nadia to Now," told the New York Post that it all started with Nadia Comăneci . The Romanian gymnast made waves when she scored a perfect 10 on the uneven bars at the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics.
Since then, Comăneci was known as the one who "greatly upped the acrobatic ante," shepherding a new era of young female gymnasts performing fresh and more challenging moves. This was a sharp contrast to the gymnastics of past decades.
Meyers wrote that women's gymnastics in 1948 weren't daring and "didn't demand extreme strength, or above-average coordination, or even a full-time commitment to practice." In that year, female gymnasts weren't given individual medals, and instead offered group medals based on the team's tallied scores.
New gymnasts, however, are seen as young, strong, and fast, with the 20-year-old Gabby Douglas immediately coming to mind with these descriptions. The two-time Olympic gold medalist competed at the artistic gymnastics women's qualification at the Rio Olympics 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Sunday, August 7.
Douglas was eager to defend the all-around title she won in London four years ago, but she lost the opportunity after finishing third behind U.S. teammates Aly Raisman and Simone Biles. Only two gymnasts per country can compete in Thursday's final event, the Associated Press reported (via The News & Observer).
Douglas, Raisman, and Biles are all short, young women. Douglas stands at 4-foot-11, Biles at 4-foot-9, and Raisman at 5-foot-2. This isn't surprising considering how female gymnasts' average height have dropped to 4-foot-9 from 5-foot-3 in the last 30 years, "The Sports Gene" author David Epstein said.
Meyers said we're currently "living in the era of the power gymnasts" whose bodies exhibit how strong they are. These female gymnasts are mostly teenagers or young adults. Raisman is 22 while Biles is 19.
The changing expectations on female gymnasts didn't bode well for everyone. Czech gymnast Vera Caslavska is among those who are against the idea.
The champion at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games said the pixie powerhouses have "degraded" gymnastics. Caslavska stressed that gymnastics was women's sport of grace and it's not for "little girls," the Post further reported.
