Competitive swimmer Ruta Meilutyten life changed forever in 2012 when he won Olympic gold at the age of 15. The publicity caused by this achievement eventually led to anxiety symptoms for the Lithuanian.
Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva15, was at the center of a fierce backlash after he pleaded guilty to doping at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Half a year earlier, at the Tokyo Summer Olympics, a Japanese Momiji Nishiya came into the spotlight when he won gold in the skateboarding street competition at only 13 years old. A relevant question arose, does a 13-year-old child belong in the Olympics at all?
Finland also has its own teenage star. Urheilu reported last week Heili from Sirviö13, who is in serious pursuit of a spot at this summer’s Paris Olympics.
The International Olympic Committee does not actually define age limits for the Olympics. Age limits are often determined according to the regulations of international sports federations.
There are exceptions. The age limit for Olympic diving is 14 years.
The International Figure Skating Federation, on the other hand, changed its system due to, among other things, the Valijeva case, so that in the future, for example, you can compete in the Winter Olympics after turning 17.
Sitting on the Athletes Committee of the International Olympic Committee Emma Terho says that within the IOC, age limits have been discussed in recent years.
– Skateboarding, which was included in the Tokyo Olympics, sparked a discussion, because all the medalists in the women’s street race were really young (13–16 years old). Whether there would be a general age limit is under review, Terho refers to all Olympic sports.
On the child’s terms
Among the current Olympic sports, for example, skating has a lot of 13-15 year olds. The sport has no age limits for the Olympics.
– Whenever there is a newer sport, the activities are not necessarily as professional and organized. You don’t necessarily know how to take things like this into account, while in the most traditional sports such discussions have been held for decades or centuries, the children’s commissioner Elina Pekkarinen sees
Pekkarinen says that it is difficult for a motivated and professionally engaged young person to go against the message if the activity is too real or it takes too much time.
– You have to go on the child’s terms. You have to make sure that the hobby doesn’t take up too much space from everything else. In pre-teens, the mind and body change, and going to school also requires a lot of concentration. If life revolves around just a hobby, it is not necessarily wise and appropriate for the child’s well-being.
At the age of 16, Emma Terho played in the Nagano Olympic team of the Women’s Lions. He estimates that today, a young athlete of the same age is more susceptible to more pressure due to, among other things, the current media landscape and social media.
Risk of misuse
Children’s Commissioner Pekkarinen says that the UN has examined internationally what kind of abuse or possibly even human trafficking a child can be exposed to in the world of sports.
– Internationally, it can unfortunately happen that a child is abused alongside or because of sports. Fortunately, such is rare in Finland.
– I hope that all sports and clubs realize that children have special rights. They are not always able to consider how much strength they have to use for the sport. They don’t necessarily recognize improper behavior and training or coaching methods that seem repulsive. It is important that there are reliable people near the child who know the child, says Pekkarinen.
At one time, among other things Jere Hård and nowadays Ari-Pekka from Liukko coaching swimming coach Marko Malvela reminds us that the sports world has gone in a direction where a lot of prestigious youth competitions are tailored for very young athletes.
– In swimming, competitions for young people are increasing all the time. There are the Youth Olympic Days, the European Youth Championships and the Under-23 European Championships. Somehow we crave events from a young age.
Malvela questions whether young people need to have so many value competitions. Of course, he reminds that exceptional cases like Ruta Meilutyte should not be excluded from the Olympics just because of their age.
The grueling everyday life of a child prodigy
Malvela says that the environment in Finland today is one where many young stars are in the limelight. For example, in the current hockey World Cup, special attention is given to those who have recently turned 18 Konsta Helenius.
Liukkonen, coached by Malvela, won the European championship at the age of 32.
– A new promise is always the one that we want to carry forward. Ari-Pekka Liukkonen, who is in his thirties, is not as media-sexy as a hockey player who, at the age of 18, has been to three World Cups. Finland loves such withdrawals, underlines Malvela.
Pekkarinen sees that the promotion of youth stars is not a special feature of Finnish culture.
– The basic characteristic has always been that we love child prodigies. Everyone secretly wishes they had such a prodigy in their circle. Every child may wish that he is a miracle.
In Estonia, the local children’s commissioners have examined, for example, whether the rights of children competing abroad are balanced, who ultimately benefits from the child’s success, and whether the contracts of children who play sports are in order.
When a talented child moves abroad to play sports, he may be separated from his own parents.
– There are tragic examples in world history, when a young athlete or cultural practitioner has been very tired at a young age and ended up with potentially tragic solutions.
– You have to listen to your child with a sensitive ear and assess his well-being. If necessary, you have to take breaks or, even at the risk of success, interrupt if it seems that the child’s physics or psyche can’t take it, Pekkarinen states.