Chinese Gymnastics Team

August 13th, 2008 filed in Olympics

Chinese Gymnasts Cheating?

**UPDATE** - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has requested that the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) investigate the ages of the Chinese Gymnasts mentioned in the paragraph below. If they were found to be underage, they would then be disqualified and their medals stripped. Once again it looks like cheaters may get caught. Unfortunately for the young girls in question, in this case the real cheaters may be the Government, and not the Athletes.

The Chinese Gymnastics Team is under scrutiny at the Beijing Olympics due to possible cheating. The scandal has been brewing for several weeks, but is beginning to boil over as mainstream media has picked up the story. The center of the controversy is the debated ages of their competing gymnasts. Apparently as many as 3 of the 6 members of the team could be less than the 16 years required for competition. China has produced passports for the three, He Kexin, Jiang Yuyuan, and Yang Yilin which state they are each eligible for the games. However contradictory evidence has been found in several Chinese Government sources.

In its report from November 3rd 2007, Xinhua identified He Kexin as one of “10 big new stars” who made a splash at China’s Cities Games. It gave her age as 13 and reported that she beat Yang Yilin on the uneven bars at those games. A May 23 story in the China Daily newspaper, the official English-language paper of the Chinese government, said He was 14. The story was later updated to list her as 16.

Yang Yilin was born Aug. 26, 1993, according to the official 2004, 2005 and 2006 national registration lists previously posted on the General Administration of Sport of China website. On the 2007 registration list, her birthday became Aug. 26, 1992. A list of competitors at a 2007 provincial competition listed Jiang Yuyuan’s birthdate as Oct. 1, 1993. The official passport, Nov. 1, 1991.

More information, including screenshots of the publications mentioned above can be found here.

So did the Chinese Women BEAT the American Women, or did they CHEAT? Tell us what YOU think.

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28 Responses to “Chinese Gymnastics Team”

Pages: « 3 [2] 1 » Show All

  1. 20
    Anonymous Says:
    August 23rd, 2008 at 12:28 am

    Why don’t we just slice them open and count the rings. I don’t see them doing medical tests,but I guess it isn’t much different than the drug testing.

  2. 19
    Candee Says:
    August 23rd, 2008 at 12:09 am

    Rules are rules and cheating is cheating. Whether it’s steroids or being underaged. Cindy up above is wrong; it isn’t shameful to lose to little girls. The younger girls have an advantage competitively because they are lighter and less fearful. The ones who cheated their way to victory should be ashamed. There are ways to test athletes medically to determine their age; by bone, cartilage, and x-rays. I think this should be done in this instance and in the future. It is extremely important that this be looked into and resolved fairly. If the Chinese girls were underage then their medals should be taken away and awarded to those who won them fair and square. Otherwise, China and other countries will be emboldened and will do this again and again.

  3. 18
    niece Says:
    August 22nd, 2008 at 1:58 pm

    AS soon as I seen the Chinese girls, I know 2-3 were younger then 16. If you can just go back to the 1st exercise He Kexin boobs were larger than the exercise towards the end and long at the picture above there is no way shes 16.

    I think they should go back as far as going to the Registars Offfice or Hall or records to get the original birth certificate.

    And Cindy, did you watch every exercise of these girls performance? No, they did not when Sawn Johnson. Did you see how they landed their legs crossed over and they still gave her the gold that is not right.

    They’re CHEATING

  4. 17
    Ida Says:
    August 22nd, 2008 at 1:51 pm

    Listen, there is a rule which was written for a reason. If you aren’t a gymnast then you have no clue what you are talking about and shouldn’t judge those who say they have cheated. We work extremely long hours in the gym and cannot perform at the olympics until we are either ready to turn 16 or are 16 or older. So to put little girls alongside older girls isn’t right. Sure they are talented, but how good will they be once they go through their growth spurts? Why do you think the Chinese change their team so often? A year ago they were saying two of these girls were born in 1994, then suddenly they change it to 1992. That my friends, is called cheating.

  5. 16
    Nellylane Says:
    August 22nd, 2008 at 1:03 pm

    I just think it’s pathetic, they must have been intimidated by us really bad for them to go through all of this trouble just to win. This, along with the digitally edited fireworks and the previously recorded edited footage of the opening ceremony have all got me wondering if I’m watching a history making sporting event or a poorly staged reality show.

  6. 15
    jerryb Says:
    August 21st, 2008 at 7:46 pm

    This is a situation where the government definitely cheated and is at fault and the girls are cauht in the middle. They performed well, but the U.S. girls definitely got screwed. The only “winners” are the Chinese rulers.

  7. 14
    Tom Says:
    August 21st, 2008 at 6:21 pm

    The chinese government does whatever is necessary to achive what ever it is they are trying to do. They have been caught, and the proofs need to be broadcast
    all over the internet for months to come
    so that as many people as possible
    worldwide know about it. Get over it?
    I don’t think so. This ain’t no weenie
    roast. Kipling got it right. The rest of the world needs to learn a lesson from this.

  8. 13
    Ash Says:
    August 20th, 2008 at 8:57 pm

    We were beat. . .that’s as simple as it gets. . .age doesn’t have to do with talent. I’m not saying it was fair, but that’s the way the cookie crumbled. . .get over it,

  9. 12
    MDW Says:
    August 19th, 2008 at 10:46 pm

    I have been working with China for decades. I was there when they quite literally killed citizens to get the bid for the Olympics to begin with. This country will stop at nothing to attain supremacy at anything. But our ranting is in vain. Kipling said it best: It is not good for the Christian health,

    To hustle the Asian brown;

    For the Christian riles, and the Asian smiles,

    And he weareth the Christian down.

    And the end of the fight is a tombstone white,

    With the name of the late deceased;

    And the epitaph drear: “A fool lies here,

    Who tried to hustle the East.”

  10. 11
    Phil Says:
    August 18th, 2008 at 2:16 pm

    Carbon dating of the umbilical cord seems reasonable.

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