They are so young and so tiny that spectators want to pat them on the head. When their eyes narrow and their faces scrunch up with concentration, audiences go squishy with the adorableness of it all. Sports commentators cooingly label them pixies and tots, then reach for adjectives like huggable, perky, cute. Sort of like puppies. Always they are described as "the next" Olga or Nadia or Mary Lou, as if anyone so small couldn't possibly have standing in her own right.
Let's get real. The young female gymnasts who will vie for medals in Barcelona are among the world's toughest...
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