Proposed changes would come in after Beijing 2008 Child gymnasts could be banned after the 2008 Beijing Olympics if the sport adopts rules to restrict pubescent stars. China's young, talented squad would be among those powerhouses hardest hit if the International Gymnastic Federation (FIG) brings in a proposed minimum age limit of 16 for competitors in major tournaments. 'Sports like gymnastics should not be there for kids. Gymnasts should only be allowed to compete on the international stage when they are mature physically and mentally,' said FIG president Bruno Grandi in Beijing, where he was attending the 'Good Luck Beijing' Gymnastics International Invitational Olympic test event which ended on Monday. He told Xinhua: '[The sport] is likely to have an age limit of no less than 16 for gymnasts to attend international competitions after 2008.' If the age-cap is introduced, nations like China, Russia, the US and Romania will see a major cull of their youthful squads. Under the proposed rules, China's Olympic gold medal hopeful Jiang Yuyuan would not have been eligble to compete at the Stuttgart World Championships in September - where she won a silver medal in the all-around - as she was then 15. The likes of US gymnast Shawn Johnson, the 15-year-old triple world champion who also won this week in Beijing, would also face a ban under the new laws. China's gymnastic chiefs - like their peers in Romania and Russia - are likely to be breathing a sigh of relief that an age limit, if enforced, would not come into effect until after next year's showcase Olympics. The mainland's vast squad is made up of children, and the gymnastic event is a discipline that is likely to reap a big medal haul. At 15, Fan Ye was among the youngest competing in the 2004 Athens Olympics. She failed to win any titles, and most of the medal winners and competitors in Greece were 16 - considered by many to be the peak age for a modern Olympic gymnast. However, other international events, such as the World Championships, held in the run-up to the Olympics, are seen as crucial training for competitors readying themselves for a medal-winning display on the biggest sporting stage. If the proposed rule comes into effect there would be no more child stars like Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci, who was just 14 when she was awarded seven perfect 10 scores at the 1976 Montreal Olympics - a world record that still stands. A new age code would prevent youngsters from having such competition experience - and this may ultimately change standards. FIG has previously touted the idea of an age limit for the Olympics after several high-profile cases of under-16 gymnasts developing anorexia and other health problems due to the harsh training regimes and immense pressure for them to remain 'underdeveloped'. US gymnast, 15-year-old Christy Henrich, developed anorexia as she struggled to qualify for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. She retired at 18 without winning a medal and died in 2000, aged 22 and weighing less than 50 pounds. In the acclaimed 1995 book Little Girls in Pretty Boxes: The Making and Breaking of Elite Gymnasts and Figure Skaters, US journalist Joan Ryan exposed the harsh world of what many view as glamorous sports. Ryan detailed how the US training methods ruined the lives of hundreds of girls. To stay in the sport, she wrote, young female athletes would starve themselves in response to ridicule about their bodies from coaches. 'Starving shuts down the menstrual cycle and blocks the onset of puberty. It's a dangerous strategy to save a career,' wrote Ryan. The book sent shock waves through the US medical and sports community. Two years ago, British Olympic rowing legend Sir Matthew Pinsent - a four times gold medallist - described his visit to one of China's 'athlete factories' as 'a pretty disturbing experience', claiming children were in pain and that he saw one boy being beaten by a coach. Too much, too young If the age cap is introduced, nations like China will suffer Nadia Comaneci was this age when she was awarded seven perfect 10 scores at the 1976 Montreal Olympics: 14
