Why do people say skaters are still going to hit puberty after 15 or 16? I'm thinking of Elena Radionova who's 16 (I think) and people still think she's going to splat soon. Don't people mean that the skater is going to grow? I finished growing at 12 and I hear that's not an uncommon occurrence, so is it just a skater thing that they all grow late? I came from an intense ballet background and I do remember girls going through some of the hormonal changes later, but the growing didn't happen all that much later.