Japanfan
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If Julia had not had her moment due to the age rules, another skater could have had her moment.The age limit in gymnastics just hid the ones who didn't make it. I also think that the sport lost a lot of its grace when the participants became older. No matter how much power the older athletes have, they can't mimic the natural agility and grace of the younger athletes. They have the strength without the bulk of muscle. Nadia had all that agility and grace that was inspiring as a 14 year old. She was still a good gymnast but not quite the same as she became older.
I also feel the same about Julia Lipnitskaya. She may not have had a long career, however at least she (and the fans as well) will always have that moment she had in Sochi in the team event with her Schindler's List program. I still watch that program to this day.
There’s a lot of speculation about what would have happened to some of the youngest champions if they hadn’t been able to exercise their god-given right to twirl on television at thirteen years old or whatever the opponents of the rule change are complaining about. But what about the flipside? What about the ones who might not have burned out so fast, who might not have been exploited by abusive coaches, who might have been able to compete years longer than they did? What beautiful skating did we never see because we put so much pressure on young kids to do every possible thing at the earliest possible moment?
This.