"Young athletes are not small copies of adults"

Many eyes were drawn to the two 13-year-olds who took home gold and silver medals in the ladies' street branch in skateboarding.

The bronze medal went to a 16-year-old.

Skateboarding, which debuts as a sport in the Olympics, was expected to qualify a lot of young participants in advance.

In table tennis is twelve-year-old Hend Zaza from Syria who played against the world elite in his first Olympics.

- It is always a discussion how young you should be when you perform at senior level.

It is one thing to compete on equal terms with peers because it is fun, but elite sports is something completely different, says Göran Kenttä, senior lecturer in sports at GIH with a focus on sports psychology.

Difficult to distinguish young people from adults

When performance is in focus, and not just the fun, it can be difficult to separate young people from adults, according to Göran Kenttä.

- We sometimes forget that young athletes are not small copies of adults.

Not least in the cognitive and mental skills where the brain is not fully developed at all.

He also believes that it is easy to be "cheated".

- You can sometimes see that young people perform in certain sports as if they were adults, which makes us believe that it is adult individuals who should be treated as adults.

But that is not really the case.

Inevitable expectations

Success also drives unavoidable expectations, which can be difficult to manage as a young person.

This is something that, among others, tennis player Naomi Osaka, gymnast Simone Biles and Swedish mountain biker Jenny Rissveds talked about in public before and during the Olympics.

- It is difficult to carry these requirements, to be the best and perform under attention.

It can be difficult for adults as well, but not least for young people, says Göran Kenttä.

No specific age limit

The International Olympic Committee has decided that it is up to each individual Olympic sport to set its own age limits.

But winning an Olympic gold as a 13-year-old does not only mean heavy pressure in the future.

- As long as you can keep the love, passion and the playful mind, you can continue to feel good in what you do. Sometimes you can almost hope that they get to keep the slightly naive approach to their sport that you have as a child.