China’s Yan Ziyi just turned 18. The very next day, she threw a 71.74m javelin to become the second-best female thrower of all time. Before this milestone, arbitrary age limits kept one of the planet’s most dominant athletes completely locked out of the Olympics and World Championships.
Posted by Frosty_Jeweler911
9 Comments
I don’t think the age limits are arbitrary. The age limits are hopefully to put some guardrails on how you can treat child athletes (however minimal)
No need to dramatize a strong athlete
Those guys that fetched the javelin were really close to disaster… is that normal for them to be so close to where they land?
You think age limits are arbitrary????
Arbitrary? As a longtime figure skating and gymnastics fan, age limits are 100% necessary.
It is pretty arbitrary – why is the min age of a gymnast 16, an ice skater 17, and a javelin thrower 18?
I’ve actually spoken with officials in Chinese athletics. They invest heavily in the women’s javelin because they believe it’s a disproportionately weak event globally, and therefore very winnable
You still don’t expect a result like this though, remarkable throw let alone at that age
These age limits are NOT arbitrary at all. China’s reputation for abusing athletes as young as 13 or 14, lying about their age so they can compete internationally, injuring them, ruining their lives.
I’ll never forget the Chinese gymnastics team in 2000, when they upped the age to 15. Some of those girls were 11 and 12 and it was hella obvious. None of them medaled except for one on beam, and China never tried it again.
You can’t abuse kids just because you want your country to win at something.