Coming to terms with the Olympics, and old age

I'm totally in Olympics mode right now. It's been timed perfectly with my school vacation last week. I've been up hours past my regular bedtime, crossing my fingers for the kind of cute ice skater clad in Vera Wang spandex, who looks like he also takes part in the Jersey Shore "GTL" routine.

I suppose he's a little tanner than you should be in February, and he uses more hair product in one night than I go through all year, but there's something oddly irresistible. No? Just me?

I've always liked the Olympics. Unlike the World Series, NBA championship, Stanley Cup, etc., I like that it's more of a world competition, not just the U.S. competing against ourselves. I dreamed of competing in gymnastics for a long time (and was pretty convinced I had a shot until I was about 9, and already taller than most of the famous gymnasts--I wasn't bothered by the fact that I still couldn't do a split). But even once I realized I was not going to be representing my country on the balance beam one day, I liked the idea that other people did that and looked up to those athletes who worked so hard for years and years to do it.

This year though, I've been watching all of the athlete profiles and realizing that there's very few now who are older than me. And the ones that are in their late 20s, or god-forbid---30! Well, the commentator has to talk about how this is their last shot, or how they retired 3 years ago but decided to give the sport one more shot in Vancouver. I'm realizing that the next time the winter olympics are held, there will be almost no athletes older than me. When did this happen? And why can't I retire at 23 also??