After recently completing articles where I talked about the average age of the 2021 Russian Championships and the 2021 European Championships, it seems appropriate to do the same for the 2021 U.S. Classic. But the real reason I’m taking a look at the age trends is because the results are actually quite shocking.

This field is young, it’s very young. Despite the presence of some big name veterans, 39 of 42 competitors were born in the current century (93%).

-Gymnasts born in 2001 or later account for 37 of 42 competitors (88%)

-Gymnasts born in 2002 or later account for 33 of 42 competitors (81%)

-Gymnasts born in 2003 or later account for 29 of 42 competitors (69%)

-Gymnasts born in 2004 or later account for 24 of 42 competitors (57%)

-Gymnasts born in 2005 or later account for 12 of 42 competitors (29%)

More than half of the field are gymnasts who are either a 1st-year or 2nd-year senior. And with the field dominated by gymnasts born in the current century, here’s how the birth years stack up.

2000: 2 Gymnasts
2001: 3 Gymnasts
2002: 5 Gymnasts
2003: 5 Gymnasts
2004: 12 Gymnasts
2005: 12 Gymnasts

So not only is virtually the entirety of the competitive field a gymnast born in the currently century, but they are disproportionately located within the last four years of senior elgibility, not 2000 or 2001. And if you want maximum “shock value,” let’s use age range rather than birth year.

-88% of competitors are no older than 19 or 20

-81% of competitors are no older than 18 or 19

-69% of competitors are no older than 17 or 18

-57% of competitors are no older than 16 or 17

-29% of competitors are no older than 15 or 16

As for the three outliers, the gymnasts are Chellsie Memmel (1988), MyKayla Skinner (1996), and Simone Biles (1997).

Additional Reading: Can We Talk About How Impressive this 2021 U.S. Classics Start List Is?