To believe that a 14-year-old BOY has ZERO business on a 'men's' Olympic team?

[expatinscotland]

This diver is a kid.

Under immense pressure.

'Women's' gymnastics had to change the minimum age of athletes after teams started bringing 13-year-olds to the Olympics and the World championships.

Seems to me it needs to be an across the board rule for all sports - no kids under 16.

What a childhood these poor wee ones must have!

My biggest gripe is that purely due to his age he is getting loads of attention that I think should be properly spread around the whole Olympic team. DH and I have been trying to watch and switched on to find an interview with his mentor and a piece about him and his family. It's about the sport, so show the bloody sport and stop turning it into a soap opera.
I think that all the attention is probably pretty unhealthy for a 14 year old too. I don't agree with anyone complaining about a team mate to the press, but from what I read, his partner was more annoyed with the press coverage, and the subsequent effect on him, than he was annoyed with Tom himself.

hmmmm ... you're 14, you're super-talented at your sport and you have the chance to compete in the OLYMPICS???? yes, you'd want your parents to say "no dear wait until you're 18" now wouldn't you.

There IS a minimum age - its 14...IIRC
They do draw the line somewhere - and that's it.
Lots of talented teenagers choose to dedicate themselves to achieving goals in particular areas of life, sport, music, computer games... So long as it was his choice, and not pushing from parents, I don't have a problem with it.

green, there as a LOT of shit i didn't want my parents to say, 'no, wait till you're 18' (and in the US, you're a minor until you're 18, not 16, so you're sort of stuck until that age) when i was 14.

but i'm really glad they did.

This is why the Brits don't win much though, because we parents protect our children. If you're going to be the best in the world at anything, you're not going to have a "normal" life.

My Ds's play tennis, badly, thank goodness, because the lives of the kids (and their parents) who have even a tiny amount of talent don't bear thinking about. You have 8yo's practising 15/20 hours per week, but it's much higher in the more sucessful countries.

HOT? HOT??
He is a child who looks just that...a child.
He is handsome in the same way lots of boys are handsome. to describe him as hot is something else entirely.

yes you bunch of peeders

describing a 14 year old child as 'hot' is sick. It's no better than those disgusting old men that letch after 14 year old children in school uniform.

I don't really care if he's in the olympics, but I do think a child at such a vulnerable age should have been made to wear more clothes before appearing at an international event;

i dont believe to get to olympic standard that any athletes have a normal childhood - whatever that is - however i do think there shouldbe an across board age restriction.

and yes - he is handsome - jeez have a word with yerselves there ladies and imagine its your DS

wear more clothes?!?!?!

sorry for talking "shit" expat ... didn't know you'd had the chance to compete in the Olympics too?

the point is waiting 2 years is no good, he has to wait 4 for the next Olympics and by then he may be injured for example or guess what the next 16 year old talent takes his place.

a good friend of mine swam competitively for years from an early age. she had a normal life, bags of drive and ambition and made her own choices all the way. it can work at a young age.

lol malory

it's such a STRANGE sport isn't it? Just an EXTRAORDINARY thing to decide to do...

I'm sorry, but I am just howling with laughter at the idea of him being made to wear more clothes. Just had a vision of the quartermaster being asked for the underage diver's burka

i never wanted to be in the Olympics. guess that means the things i wanted to do were entirely unworthy.

my dd would love to even get close to trying out for the Olympic gymnastics team, the minimum age at the moment is 16, and if she does ever get close to it at that age, i will be behind her 100%.
Even if she is only representing her region at competitions rather than her country, i will still let her train as much as she wants to.

Its a once in a lifetime opportunity, and as her coach tells me, there are very few people in this world who have a talent that makes them shine above the rest.

I mean one of those uv suits or something. Not a Burkha. As I suspect you know [narrow eyes]

GermanPrison!

not saying that anything YOU wanted to do was unworthy expat and you know it. just don't see why my pov should be described as "shit" tbh. I was imagining having that opportunity and being denied it because your parents didn't support you in your ambitions and dreams. the chance to achieve success in sports often comes with a very short shelf life.

Unlike 99% of the British population, when the Olympics roll around every four years I don't become an armchair expert on curling and other minority sports. The whole thing has passed me by, I was barely aware it had only just started.

I did say I had no idea how old he was, all I saw whilst eating my sandwich at my desk was a picture of two attractive "men" diving in a muscley fashion. Then I opened the storty and found one of them was 14. Was a bit surprised.

I don't think that makes me a paedophile thanks very much MP.

ffs, green READ my post. nowhere does it say, 'green, you're talking shit.' no, it's says there was a lot of shit that i wanted to do when i was 14 that my folks vetoed because it wasn't in my best interests.

being a parent means you look out for kids' interest and that doesn't necessarily mean you don't support their 'ambitions and dreams'.

so get a GRIP.

BGP!

those ain't trunks, malory .