Surprise: IOC to probe whether fetal Chinese gymnast is underage
posted at 4:36 pm on August 22, 2008 by Allahpundit
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Would a government willing to risk a global pandemic of SARS just to protect its own image go so far as to change a date on a passport? An anxious world pauses, ponders the rouged embryo that just won gold on the uneven bars, and waits.
“More information has come to light that did point to discrepancies,” [IOC spokesman Giselle] Davies said. “We have asked the gymnastics federation to look into it further with the national Chinese federation. If there is a question mark, and we have a concern – which we do – we ask the governing body of any sport to look into … as to why there is a discrepancy.”
The man who uncovered the allegations about the underage athlete told The Times that he was not even a sports a fan, but decided to investigate the issue to determine if Chinese authorities were lying. He eventually discovered that two Excel spreadsheets on the Chinese government’s official sports website – www.sport.gov.cn – that mentioned her name had recently being removed.
“There was a conclusion here,” [computer security expert Mike] Walker said. “These documents existed, on a state-wide website, and now they don’t exist, and this change has taken place recently. I was interested because these were documents that no-one could find. If there’s information to be found on the internet I’m a citizen journalist – it was a challenge.”…
Under his blog name Stryde Hax, Mr Walker wrote: “Much of the coverage regarding Kexin’s age has only mentioned ‘allegations’ of fraud, and the IOC has ignored the matter completely. I believe that these primary documents, issued by the Chinese state … rise to a level of evidence higher than ‘allegation’. How official are these documents? Pretty dang official – they were issued by the General Administration of Sport of China.”
The two spreadsheets in question list her DOB as 1/1/94, making her not quite 18 months shy of the eligibility age of 16. I won’t insult your intelligence by asking why the IOC waited until the end of the Olympics to investigate this when questions were being raised back at the start of the Games, before the gymnastics events even took place, about whether passports and a team’s ipse dixit were reliable proof of age. Here’s your exit question instead: Why was China so sloppy about hiding the evidence? Not only did Walker find the spreadsheets on a government website, but until recently reports of the actual ages of the gymnasts were available on Chinese state news pages. They spent years planning a mind-blowing opening ceremony to impress the world, yet no one thought to devote five minutes to scrubbing the ‘Net of evidence of their grand fraud in the actual competition?
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BS. On a level playing field, this so-called 14 yr old beat older US gymnasts. I would be hiding my head in shame if I were the US team, instead of whining.
Chudi on August 22, 2008 at 4:40 PM
ESPN is already reporting that there is no further proof and the case is closed. Not surprising in the least. The IOC’s pathetic response to this situation is at least part of the Exit Answer.
BadgerHawk on August 22, 2008 at 4:40 PM
.
Good one…
Think_b4_speaking on August 22, 2008 at 4:41 PM
Well, since they are not Republicans they figured that any wrong-doing would be ignored by the world’s press.
bbz123 on August 22, 2008 at 4:41 PM
What about the girls that finished in 4th, Chudi? It’s not just about the U.S., you xenophobe.
BadgerHawk on August 22, 2008 at 4:41 PM
I read that the IOC determined, in only a couple of hours, that there was no evidence to prove they were underage. They probably only waited a couple of hours so that it would appear that they actually were looking into it.
There’s no way anything will happen to the Chinese migets.
orlandocajun on August 22, 2008 at 4:41 PM
US should have taken to calling her “Wei Tu Yung”.
When Liukin lost the gold on the high bar, and her father was complaining to the judges, he should have said that “Look, we all know that Wei Tu Yung, or whatever name is, is like 10 years old. Isn’t that fact worth a 1/10 of a point?”
lorien1973 on August 22, 2008 at 4:41 PM
If they took steroids or something, then i have a problem with it, but I don’t know how this made the US team to be falling all over the place, and stepping out of bounds. This is just too much. This girl worked really hard for her medals, and it shouldn’t be taken away, cus the US girls got their ‘feelings hurt’.
Chudi on August 22, 2008 at 4:42 PM
Baggerhawk,
Why don’t u go to hell. Useless racist.
Chudi on August 22, 2008 at 4:43 PM
Chinese security is an oxymoron.
I was involved in a security software product they tried to buy… luckily I was able to scotch the deal…
Key is that you can’t secure ALL information for an entire country if you are hooked to the net… its impossible.
And if its there? Someone can find it… the only secure info is that which is NOT hooked to the net.
Romeo13 on August 22, 2008 at 4:43 PM
Yup.
But watch out, by the next olympics, the chinese team will win the gold again. This time, with the chinese embryonic gymnasts in a petri dish, getting the highest score on the uneven bacteria.
wise_man on August 22, 2008 at 4:43 PM
.
So rules are not rules, unless drugs are involved?
Think_b4_speaking on August 22, 2008 at 4:44 PM
You should look into the rules of the game. Part of the greatness of sport (even though gymnastics is debatably a sport) is that everyone plays by the same rules. Thus the outcomes are fair. If the rules be damned, why play at all.
lorien1973 on August 22, 2008 at 4:44 PM
What on earth are you talking about? There’s documentary evidence that they’re cheating on their own websites. The cut-off age is there because younger girls have physiological advantages over older girls; it’s no different from taking performance-enhancing drugs. Good lord.
Allahpundit on August 22, 2008 at 4:44 PM
BadgerHawk on August 22, 2008 at 4:41 PM
Chudi on August 22, 2008 at 4:43 PM
Now, now, gentlemen. Behave.
wise_man on August 22, 2008 at 4:44 PM
How many 13-14 year old athletes would have beat this little girl IF other countries wouldn’t have followed the rules?
RULES ARE RULES! FOLLOW THE DAMN RULES!
I bet the USA and other Countries have LOTS of young athletes, however the RULES STATE NO YOUNGER THAN 16..
Chakra Hammer on August 22, 2008 at 4:45 PM
It’s not a level playing field when some of the athletes are done with puberty, while the rest aren’t… It works both ways, and in this event, it’s a plus to be smaller and lighter. They made up the age requirement for a reason!
Seixon on August 22, 2008 at 4:46 PM
So… rules are not rules?
Everyone knew this rule long ago… and China set our to cheat…
So, would a MALE sprinter who worked really hard be OK to win a FEMALE race? after all, its only a rule… he worked really hard….
Romeo13 on August 22, 2008 at 4:46 PM
I wish someone could find it, but one night during the gymnastics my wife called me in shocked that the age listed for one of the Chinese gymnasts was 14 on the broadcast graphics. Surely NBC wouldn’t do that would they? Come to think of it, it might still be on my DVR. Gotta check that tonight. I forgot about it until now and figured someone would’ve picked up on it. Prediction: NBC declares a “technical malfunction”. Prediction 2: “These are not the gymnasts we thought we knew”
pecan pie on August 22, 2008 at 4:47 PM
When at an intellectual disadvantage, resort to name calling.
Nice work Chudi.
dc84123 on August 22, 2008 at 4:48 PM
Underage? By Barry O’s standards, she still may qualify to be aborted! The mother has a
45 minute30 day60 day1 year15 year grace period after birth to make up her mind, depending on the latest law the Democrat congress comes up with.stonemeister on August 22, 2008 at 4:48 PM
They have the rule because prepubescent girls have a significant advantage over postpubescent girls on the uneven bars. This is the Olympics and we are looking for the best in adults. If we want to have the children’s Olympics that’s a different story.
BTW He Kexin just happened to win on the uneven bars.
indythinker on August 22, 2008 at 4:48 PM
There is a distinct advantage for those under 16. If you cheat you should lose.
cat-scratch on August 22, 2008 at 4:48 PM
Don’t forget about the indignant parents of the underage girls.
How dare we question their babies!
nailinmyeye on August 22, 2008 at 4:48 PM
Awesome comeback.
BadgerHawk on August 22, 2008 at 4:49 PM
china has the same mindset as The Messiah…they didn’t think anyone would have the brass tacks to doubt them…guess again…
ocbrat on August 22, 2008 at 4:49 PM
I wouldn’t call it whining, just pointing out the facts.
MechFighter on August 22, 2008 at 4:49 PM
Yes, precisely. You think there are no world-class gymnasts of that age in the U.S.? It’s one thing to say, “Don’t cast aspersions without evidence,” but er, there’s evidence here. Lots. On Chinese government websites.
Allahpundit on August 22, 2008 at 4:49 PM
Seriously though, Chudi: What about the girls who finished 4th? They would have medals if the Chinese hadn’t cheated.
BadgerHawk on August 22, 2008 at 4:50 PM
Chudi,
The rule was put in place to protect the athlete. If she isn’t 15 (turning 16 sometime this year) she is not eligible. It is that simple. Nadia won her gold when she was 14. But the rule wasn’t in place at that time.
Sue on August 22, 2008 at 4:50 PM
Check out “You’re Chinese and You’re Nine” at http://www.wbap.com/article.asp?id=134145
Harpoon on August 22, 2008 at 4:50 PM
Racists.
nailinmyeye on August 22, 2008 at 4:50 PM
AP makes a good point. Nastia was a world class gymnast 4 years ago at the age of 14, but played by the rules and didn’t compete.
BadgerHawk on August 22, 2008 at 4:50 PM
Chudi…………
you ignorant slut.I’m interested by your viewpoint, please tell me more.
(eyes glaze over)
omnipotent on August 22, 2008 at 4:51 PM
Ah, yes, the “rules were made to be broken” crowd weighs in.
Fact is, there is a minimum age to participate as an athlete in the Olympics rule for a reason.
That rule was not only allegedly broken, China went so far as to create and submit fraudulent documents and official statements in an attempt to cover it up.
It may be “BS” to you, but to ALL the participates in those events who’ve remained extremely disciplined and focused, and trained very hard, for many YEARS to get there, it’s far from being “BS”.
SilverStar830 on August 22, 2008 at 4:51 PM
Chinese gymnasts in the past have admitted to competing underage, so it’s not like this is a new phenomenon. With previous examples, you’d think the IOC would be more careful with the country. Guess not.
lorien1973 on August 22, 2008 at 4:51 PM
Well………….. that surely closes the book on this for me!
………….. any doubters will immediately report to Re-education Camps.
Seven Percent Solution on August 22, 2008 at 4:52 PM
Guys, guys! C’mon, just mentioning “race” doesn’t make you a racist. I think the bar for that term is a bit higher. Having said that, you’re all anti-semites! /sarc
stonemeister on August 22, 2008 at 4:52 PM
If they lied to the IOC about ages, why would they not also cheat by influencing the judges? China has a way of “influence” people to do things they wouldn’t normally do.
The Chinese girls did a great job, but the question remains whether they deserved as many gold medals when maybe they should have received one or two silver or bronze.
Lawrence on August 22, 2008 at 4:52 PM
Look at 4′11″ 16 year old Shawn Johnson then look at little tiny Fetus girl… uhhh… case closed.
Chakra Hammer on August 22, 2008 at 4:53 PM
That’s been my point during this whole thing. Here in Texas it is sometimes said that Carly Patterson would have had a hard time winning a Collin County championship in 2004.
Harpoon on August 22, 2008 at 4:54 PM
Nice. I wish I could describe how loudly I just luaghed.
BadgerHawk on August 22, 2008 at 4:54 PM
Now, my racist, sexist, rude and crude friends might say “The Chinese girls can do a great…job…on me”. But I won’t go there. Nope.
stonemeister on August 22, 2008 at 4:55 PM
The IOC had to investigate to protect their reputation. What some people fail to recognize is that the point of this isn’t to find out the truth, but to provide cover for the Olympics.
No one is going to lose any medals after it’s all said and done.
Asher on August 22, 2008 at 4:55 PM
Laughing is the best medicine. Glad someone got a chuckle before it gets yanked.
omnipotent on August 22, 2008 at 4:57 PM
For the unnamed ignorant souls:
Think_b4_speaking on August 22, 2008 at 4:57 PM
Exactly. It’s about the rules.
If these girls are 14 they are ineligible, end of story. If you don’t like them, try to get them changed, you shoudn’t be able to just ignore them and expect to pay no consequences.
If you’re going to randomly pick and choose which rules to enforce, why have any rules at all?
I’m sure there are other 14 and 15y/o gymnasts in the world who would have loved to have their chance in the olympics this year, but weren’t granted that opportunity because their government wasn’t willing to fake official documents.
dead-duck on August 22, 2008 at 4:57 PM
They beat the US Gymnasts?
http://www.nbcolympics.com/gymnastics/medals/bynation/_women.html
Womens Gymnastics..
United States 2 Gold 5 Silver 1 Bronze total 8
China 2 Gold 0 Silver 4 Bronze total 6
Now who won again?
Chakra Hammer on August 22, 2008 at 4:58 PM
The younger the gymnast the better. They have fun, are more energetic and are not aware of the level of competition surrounding them nor the importance of winning gold. They are stress-free and care-free, unlike a 16yr. old or older.
jencab on August 22, 2008 at 4:58 PM
Chudi on August 22, 2008 at 4:40 PM
Yes, the American girls were clearly at an advantage being 25% heavier and having a higher center of gravity.
I’m just kidding, of course. I think you are extraordinarily retarded.
DaveS on August 22, 2008 at 4:59 PM
… aw, come on, people. “uneven bacteria” was just slightly funny… ?
wise_man on August 22, 2008 at 4:59 PM
.
Maybe you should have gone with paramecium bars?
Think_b4_speaking on August 22, 2008 at 5:01 PM
I was watching Shawn Johnson with her coach and she started when she was only like 6 years old!(she already has 10 years experience at 16 years old!) so I’m sure that we have LOTS of young athletes that simply didn’t make the team just because of the age requirement.
Chakra Hammer on August 22, 2008 at 5:02 PM
Do we really even need the evidence from the Chinese records? Just look at their pictures- they ain’t 16, and I’m not sure the youngest is even 14. The Chinese have been caught doing this same exact thing before; they’re obviously doing it again.
Strip their medals- both for individuals and their team. Rules are rules, and they intentionally broke them. If that hurts the feelings of the underaged Chinese girls, too bad- they knew what the rules are and that they were breaking them.
Hollowpoint on August 22, 2008 at 5:02 PM
Duckie, you just hit on the basis of liberalism. That is, if you don’t agree with a law, just ignore it. Drugs, immigration, voting laws, whatever. And laws can’t be codified morals, heaven forbid!
This is one of my hot points: morals are the personal guidelines for life, and violations are paid for in the afterlife, as your beliefs permit; laws are the societal codification of morals, where the violations are paid for in the here and now, just in case you aren’t an adherent to the same morality as the rest of society.
Once you remove morality, laws are only whatever legislatures enact, based on popularity. This is what liberals want…specifically, fascist liberals. With no moral foundation, any law can be passed if presented as popular or desired. That’s how the nazi’s did it.
stonemeister on August 22, 2008 at 5:03 PM
I hope they don’t just glaze over this. It’s not just by any stretch. Our all around gold medalist may have been gold material in the last Olympics (I think quite possibly). The younger girls have an advantage, and so the rules need to be enforced. This has nothing to do with whining.
Spirit of 1776 on August 22, 2008 at 5:06 PM
What’s the best way to bury something?
Start an investigation!
Weebork on August 22, 2008 at 5:07 PM
What’s the best way to make a Democrat bury something?
/fixed
stonemeister on August 22, 2008 at 5:09 PM
The question now becomes, is Chudi a liberal when believing that cheating is ok at the Olympics?
Kokonut on August 22, 2008 at 5:10 PM
Want to see Olympic corruption or just outright incompetence? Are you near a TV? Put on CNBC right now and watch the boxing competition. I guarantee you’ll see points scored with no blows landed and head snapping blows that won’t score. I guarantee it.
A boxer just landed a blow that sent the other guy flying back – no point. WTF!
TheBigOldDog on August 22, 2008 at 5:11 PM
It should also be noted that the American gymnast, Nastia Luikin, was a few months too young to compete in 2004, and she didn’t. She did not complain, her father/coach did not complain, and the American Federation did not try to fake her birthdate just to get her on the team. So if this age rule applies to the US team and others, then it should also apply to the Chinese. Can you just imagine the FUSS that would have come if the US had faked her passport and sent her to Athens.
Rules are rules… and this age rule was put into place for a very specific reason. Gymnastics may not be to everyone’s taste, but it is a dangerous sport (esp for kids) and their safety and well-being are important.
I wonder how many 13 yr old Chinese tots are sitting in wheelchairs or walking around in backbraces from vaulting injuries while He Kiexen is parading around with her gold medal. Are we going to hear from THOSE parents??? I doubt it.
Gartrip on August 22, 2008 at 5:12 PM
Holy Sh!t – they actually gave the Chinese boxer the point for the power shot landed by the guy from Ireland. WOW. Ireland is going to explode tonight….
TheBigOldDog on August 22, 2008 at 5:12 PM
Exactly. Johnson is 16y/o… if she can win a gold medal now, I’m sure she could have done perfectly fine a year ago — but if the olympics were held a year ago, she wouldn’t have been given the chance.
The “aww come on, you’re just jealous cuz they won! They’re good atheletes! Where’s the harm?” argument is based on the false assumption that the other teams didn’t have any possible younger girls to put up.
The other teams don’t consist only of girls above the age limit by accident – the girls are older because the teams obeyed the rules.
But then, I don’t know, maybe it’s all part of the “everybody lies!” mindset — assuming the only reason everyone else isn’t cheating is just because they didn’t think of it first. (or they are all cheating, and just haven’t been caught)
BTW For the record, if these girls were Americans, I’d be making the same arguments.
dead-duck on August 22, 2008 at 5:12 PM
Obviously a very real possibility.
wise_man on August 22, 2008 at 5:12 PM
I carefully inspected the Chinese gymnasts’ passports. There was no artifact “halo” around the letters. The embossed seal and official signature were present. The documents were pristine and unaltered. So pristine, in fact, that they were still warm from passing through the laser printer. They are absolutely legit and complaints to the contrary are racism against the poor undernourished Chinese girls who would be much larger by now if it weren’t for Bush’s numerous failed policies.
/BeijingBob
innominatus on August 22, 2008 at 5:15 PM
Oh, you worry too much. The lovely Chinese communist Utopians simply provide the parents with a slightly late term abortion on those obviously defective children.
stonemeister on August 22, 2008 at 5:15 PM
I watched this event when it was happening, and the “tiebreaker” rules were very confusing as well. This has fed the hysteria somewhat.
I’m not an expert on gymnastics, but the commentators seemed surprised when He’s scores were as high as Nastia’s. Then there were a few minutes of confusion as the tie was announced, the process of calculating the score including the (Australian?) judge’s score which was left out in the first round (I think eliminating high & low scores initially) dragged on, and Nastia’s dad still didn’t seem to understand what had happened as the medals were awarded.
He is clearly underage, at least in my opinion. It’s unfortunate that her dreams may be crushed, but let’s place the blame on the state athletic system that has used her unfairly rather than on those seeking to find the truth and enforce the rules.
cs89 on August 22, 2008 at 5:16 PM
These Chinese toddlers should somehow be included in the next Olympic Games. I’m thinking of a new gynastics category called “Dancing on the Head of a Pin”.
Yeah, I think they’d do quite well.
CliffHanger on August 22, 2008 at 5:17 PM
I
sitstand corrected! :)Weebork on August 22, 2008 at 5:18 PM
Allegedly, her young age actually gives her an advantage because of differences in a younger girl’s hip structure and center of mass. Whether this is not true is unclear (Nastia Leuken actually is 16 years old and is 5′3 and like 115lb — so, a regular sized girl, and she won the all-around gold…) But, so saith the experts, being 14 gives you a leg up over older girls.
Outlander on August 22, 2008 at 5:18 PM
I don’t get it. He is underage. She is underage. Are we talking about one person or two?
stonemeister on August 22, 2008 at 5:18 PM
By Chinese standards, they’re defective just because they’re female.
jimmy the notable on August 22, 2008 at 5:18 PM
Teddy Atlas and Bob Poppa just went through some of the blows landed by the Irish boxer against the Chinese boxer and not scored – they ended by saying, what’s the point in even having the bout? Right now it’s a 10-0 shutout in favor of the Chinese boxer – ROFLMAO!
TheBigOldDog on August 22, 2008 at 5:18 PM
Also, you guys seem to have done a real nice job shutting Chudi up. Well done.
jimmy the notable on August 22, 2008 at 5:18 PM
uh… “gymnastics”. The other just wouldn’t be right.
CliffHanger on August 22, 2008 at 5:19 PM
Hey, but Barry O says that they are better than us, so end of story!
funky chicken on August 22, 2008 at 5:22 PM
Teddy Atlas: Patty Barnes (Irish boxer) didn’t realize he’d be down 5-0 before he even left the dressing room.
Why? Because he was fighting a Chinese boxer.
TheBigOldDog on August 22, 2008 at 5:25 PM
it’s disgusting … horrifying what they do to these little girls starting when they are barely potty trained.
But hey, Barry O sez “thumbs up!” The trains run on time too! And they only had to bulldoze 15 villages to build that brand new Beijing airport that he loves so much. You know, to make an omelet you do have to break some eggs. And abuse peasants.
funky chicken on August 22, 2008 at 5:27 PM
Looks to me like the Chinese have dropped any pretense of cheating. It’s out in the open now, as an example of their power, especially when the IOC cowers and acquiesces to them.
stonemeister on August 22, 2008 at 5:27 PM
Chudi, I’ll walk you through this one reeeaaaallll sllloooowwww.
Fact 1: Cheaters cheat in order to gain a competitive advantage.
Explantion: Just like you wouldn’t tie illegal cement blocks to your feet in track, you wouldn’t violate the age rules of a sport in order to decrease your chances of winning.
Fact 2: China cheated.
Conclusion: China knows there is a competitive advantage to using smaller, lighter gymnasts. Due to the physiological nature of puberty in females adding more height, widening hips, and adding more fat and muscle capacity, the Chinese gymnasts thus had a better center of gravity and less weight getting in the way during their performances.
I barely know anything about gymnastics, but this is pure logic.
Oh wait, you’re a leftist. I might as well be writing this in Chinese.
BKennedy on August 22, 2008 at 5:30 PM
Nastia Liukin is actually 18 and 1/2 years old.
October 30, 1989
Moscow, Soviet Union
Lives in Parker, TX
http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=621/bio/index.html
Chakra Hammer on August 22, 2008 at 5:31 PM
What is the nationality of the judges?
a capella on August 22, 2008 at 5:32 PM
Teddy has been so upset with the boxing scoring this whole time, this is really nothing new for Olympic boxing though.. we have seen really bad decisions in Olympic boxing before. I love boxing but i don’t even consider Olympic boxing a sport..
Chakra Hammer on August 22, 2008 at 5:33 PM
stonemeister on August 22, 2008 at 5:27 PM
Spooky parallel to the Russia/Georgia thing.
innominatus on August 22, 2008 at 5:33 PM
Exactly.
emailnuevo on August 22, 2008 at 5:33 PM
It’s out in the open for sure. Even the Cubans are going nuts. The theory is, they don’t want the Chinese fighters to have to face the Cubans in the medal rounds…. The international press attacked the IOC head of boxing the other day and it wasn’t pretty….
TheBigOldDog on August 22, 2008 at 5:35 PM
unfortunately in boxing the way its scored is that 3 judges have to press a button all at the same time within one second of each other to score a point, so its VERY influenced by the crowd noise IMHO.. and well its in China so.. ANYTHING at looks like a punch the crowd is going to yell and the judges will be more prone to press the button..
Chakra Hammer on August 22, 2008 at 5:36 PM
hehehe
urbancenturion on August 22, 2008 at 5:39 PM
I think everybody’s missing the big issue here. This is just about the most OBVIOUS way of cheating there is. All you’d have to do to prove this one way or the other is to go and interview the girl’s teachers and classmates. For starters: is she currently in the Chinese equivalent of high school, or grade school?
If the Chinese government is blocking an instant resolution to this (no pun intended) childishly obvious charade, then it’s perfectly safe to assume that – of course – they also cheated in every possible way in every other sport as well.
Who cares about one stinking medal? If the Olympic comittee were worth a rat’s ass, they’d have stripped China of all medals and excluded them from competition for 8 years.
Instead, they start the investigation after the competition is over. Now they’ll spend four months politely asking the Chinese government to admit they lied, and then close the case – after the media have long forgotten all about it.
logis on August 22, 2008 at 5:45 PM
Actually she’s 18 and 3/4 years old..
18 years 9.7 months old
or.
225.7 Months Old.
or
981.6 Weeks old.
or
6871 days old.
Chakra Hammer on August 22, 2008 at 5:45 PM
It’s easy to shut someone up when they’re just barely smart enough to realize they’re a moron. It’s the really stupid ones that are frustrating.
BadgerHawk on August 22, 2008 at 5:49 PM
This can’t be kept quiet for long… she’ll theoretically be 18 in just a couple of years. Will she be made out to be 18 months older for the rest of her life?
leftnomore on August 22, 2008 at 5:52 PM
Judging this girl’s age just by her appearance shows a bias that a lot of Americans might not even be aware they have. In this country where some girls reach puberty at 9-10 and many certainly by 12-13 it’s easy to look at a small, under-developed girl and think she can’t possibly be 16. Years ago I knew a Chinese woman from a small town who swore she didn’t reach puberty until 17 and it was not at all uncommon in her region. I’m not a physiologist but from a young age American girls are chowing down on hi-fat processed foods, hormone-leaden dairy products and red meat and it stimulates their own hormonal development at an ever earlier age. Contrast that with a provincial Chinese girl whose diet still revolves around rice or rice noodles and predominantly vegetables with occasional meat and it’s no mystery how a 16-year could appear so young by western standards.
I have no idea how old this girl is, nor any idea when this 16-year old rule went into effect. In Atlanta, the Chinese had a fourteen year old diver, were wide open about it, and no one made a stink. These kids are training from the age of 3-4 so what possible justification can there be for holding them back? – other than they’ll have to put their endorsement money in a trust until they’re adults.
sanguine4 on August 22, 2008 at 5:53 PM
I doubt anything will be done. The chinese will lie and the IOC will say okay, end of investigation.
Blake on August 22, 2008 at 5:56 PM
I agree. If this girl is too young and it appears at this point that she is, this was known to the Chinese and they condoned it, its not the girl’s fault. The solution is for the Chinese to hand out gold metals to everyone that got silver competing against the underage girl, not to take the gold from this girl. And we can all learn from this that China can’t be trusted, not in small things like this or big things either.
Maxx on August 22, 2008 at 5:57 PM
Someone earlier stated that Shawn Johnson is 4′11″ tall. She is actually 4′09″ tall. Her number was 411. But in looking at her web site to find that out, what really surprised me was at birth her APGAR Score was 0. This little girl needed a lot of help to come in to this world and thank God her Doctors didn’t give up on her.
meci on August 22, 2008 at 5:57 PM
From reading these comments, relativism is rearing it’s ugly head again. All the commenters who are creating an argument that nothing should be done with the medals won by the cheating Chinese team are throwing rules out the window and replacing them with hurt feelings and other emotions.
Rules of the OIC, sportsmanship, and the law are only irritations to these people.
Please understand, these rules are hedges of protection. If the Chinese are allowed to get away with it this time, precedent is set. Others WILL demand the same.
It’s sad for the girls, I feel badly for them. But this shows you what an oppresive government does with it’s people. It exalts itself while it chews up human beings in the process. It doesn’t care about anything but itself.
It’s a beast.
Expose it. Shine light on it’s dirty deeds.
Skidd on August 22, 2008 at 5:58 PM
You ever notice that people who are born in America but are ethnically 100% Chinese tend to tower over their parents? I know many Chinese-American men who are 5′11, 6′ tall, whose fathers might be 5′5 or so. You may attribute that to highly processed foods… I attribute it to having an appropriate amount of food. A lot of Chinese are malnourished, even though China doesn’t want to tell you that.
Outlander on August 22, 2008 at 5:59 PM
There’s no age restriction on divers. China’s gold medalist on the platform was amazing, and only 15. I mean it in a nice way when I say that you sound naive. As has been repeated several times, there’s documented proof that several of the girls aren’t 16. You don’t just get to break a rule because you don’t agree with it.
BadgerHawk on August 22, 2008 at 6:00 PM
It’s not a level playing field, THAT’S THE CONTROVERSY! All other gymnasts who were under 16 were barred from competing. There’s no telling what other 15 or 14 year old gymnast might have whooped Kexin’s malnourished ass if she had been allowed to compete. The rule needs to either be dropped or enforced across the board. No other way is fair.
viking999 on August 22, 2008 at 6:01 PM
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