If you are a keen follower of Rio Olympics, especially gymnastics, you must have observed that female gymnasts taking part in the Games are either small in frame or too young.
Consider Dipa Karmakar who became the first woman gymnast from India to make it to the Olympics recently. The 23-year-old Dipa is just 4 feet and 11 inches tall.
One of the favourites for winning the gold medal this year in Rio is Simone Biles, who is just 4 feet 7 inches tall. Even the rest of her teammates are not tall enough. Take the Chinese women gymnasts team. Not only are their girls short, but also so young that they have barely turned teenagers.
If you are wondering what is the deal with the short and young girls doing well in gymnastics, there is science which proves the point.
A simple scientific explanation for the same is that smaller things simply require lesser energy to flip through air, which, in other words, means they would be able to perform better."
There is pure physics behind that logic. Smaller girls have lower muscle mass, which makes it easier for them to move about and soar through air.
Petite frames help these gymnasts balance the beams and jump on the uneven bars, according to Medical Daily.
Age not on the side of athletes
Another curiosity that surrounds viewers is about the young age at which these girls achieve stupendous success.
The answer, according to experts, lies in the fact that gymnastics is too strenuous a game for the long term. The girls, as they age, may not be able to keep up with the exhaustion that this game impresses upon the players' bodies.
Most female gymnasts compete no more than once in the Olympic Games. The high-risk stunts often demand a body that is hard to maintain as age progresses.
