It's off season, I'm bored and when I couldn't sleep last night I started dreaming up what some of the top teams might have been if the minimum age was 18. just for fun, no fighting! Of course teres a million what ifs in terms of peaking and injuries and so on.
2016 USA
Swap out Laurie for Maggie, put up same lineup as 2015 minus Brenna
2015 USA actually stays the same, Simone wins her first world title. Maybe Kyla peaks and wins 2014 AA but then retires since she's so tall. Or Larisa wins.
2011, 2012 gets interesting
Some combination of Aly (only 2012), Alicia, Nastia, Anna, Shawn, Becca and Bridget (keeping in mind Shawn and Bridget would have had to peak later, this would be their first Olympics)
2008- Chellsie, Nastia, Alicia, Jana and ???
2012 Russia, Nabs makes the team. Maybe in 2016 too!
Romania stops making teams completely and Cata and Sandra dominate as individuals in 2012.
It's interesting to think who might never even become an Olympian with these rules, like Jordyn, Kyla, Sam P, Grishina, etc. Komova would have to peak later and stay healthy to replace Melnikova in 2016.
It really changes the landscape other than USA 2015-2016. To be clear I don't propose the change, I'm just curious with all you gym gurus, who you would come up to be on your teams . It seems a lot more two time Olympians would be common, those just old enough at 18-19 and then no one to replace them when they are 22+. Aly and Aliya would have the most recent benefit here, but they didn't need this rule to be awesome "old lady" gymnasts anyway.
Teams if you had to be 18
