Chinese Gymnastics Team
August 13th, 2008 filed in Olympics
**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”
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August 15th, 2008 at 8:09 am
Seriously, this is a load of crap. Who cares how old they are. They won, get over it people. We lost to a bunch of little girls, the United States should be ashamed. Quit crying and get better. They didn’t cheat, we were beat.
August 15th, 2008 at 8:25 am
They cheated. It is obvious to anyone who watched, that these girls aren’t 16. Now we have the proof. Their own government has published information in the past which said they were younger, and now they falsify passports? I have heard that they also use harder mats in the floor exercises, which benefit the younger lighter competitors. That along with the delay tactics before the balance beam competition should be enough for the IOC to take away the gold. China has always been a nation of cheaters, and they couldn’t stand to lose in their own backyard.
August 15th, 2008 at 9:23 am
We were robbed. There is no way that those girls are 16. I don’t understand how the government can get away with this and the olympic organizers don’t challenge them. If the games weren’t in China, I bet they would take the gold medal away.
August 15th, 2008 at 10:36 am
Cheaters,Cheaters,Cheaters!!But Why? Can’t the Chinese compete/participate by the same rules like everybody else
August 15th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
“Looks young” should not be given as justification. We all know people that don’t look their age. In the asian and black communities you find it to be especially true. http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2008/08/14/lah.50.japan.pink.lady.cnn?iref=videosearch
Investigation should have been thorough before the games so we don’t have to put all these young competitors in this situation. We also need to be weary about using the news reports as evidence. Mistakes are found in newspapers all the time. Whether it is true or not, the hardworking athletes (all of them) should not be overshadowed by an investigation.
August 15th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
OMG Jennifer, wah those poor hardworking athletes. They know they aren’t 16, so they are just as guilty as their coaches and government. They purposely falsified documents and misled the IOC. They deserve to have their medals stripped, and have their communist country embarrassed.
August 15th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Cindy, they won, but they cheated. Maybe there’s a 14 year old American girl who could’ve blown them out of the water. We’ll never know.
Jennifer, the only investigation the IOC does is check the passport. Period. They’ve commented that that is all they can do.
Tony, to be fair, if you were a gymnast who dreamed of being in the Olympics (because your government has forced you to train since you were 6 or so), and your government told you to lie about your age and cheat, would you say, “No, I’ll wait til next time…” I think not. If you did, you’d find yourself out of favor with the Chinese govt.
August 18th, 2008 at 10:38 am
Some of the girls look of age, but some of them do not. It’s hard to tell. Chinese are infamous for their deceptively young look.
August 18th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
They won some more medals last night. The cheating continues. I can’t believe this is allowed to continue. What a sham the olympics has become.
August 18th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
What do you want the IOC to do? All they can do is ask each country to provide accurate and genuine information on an athlete’s age. Innocent until proven guilty is the world’s creed, right?
I also can’t believe now commentators keep asking the US gymnasts to comment on the age speculation - trying to get someone to bite out of frustration to start a scandal war. If the press wants to start a scandal war, then start it yourselves.
If the IOC opens up this can of worms, imagine the backlash. All they can do now is get new policies and procedures for age verification in place for the London games. Even then, what policies and procedures are needed? A birth certificate? A video of the birth with a timestamp? Hospital Records? If a country wants it bad enough, any of those documents can be foreged…
August 18th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Carbon dating of the umbilical cord seems reasonable.
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.”
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,
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
August 24th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Why does it feel like the Soviet Union & the East German Sports Machine all over again?
I feel for the Chinese team members because they are victims of abuse. Mainly by the government, but also by the parents whom are also victims.
August 24th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
oops clicked too soon.
As for the Team USA I think in fairness - even awarding a second gold and make them be tied.
Individual golds won by underagers should be stripped and re-awarded.
August 24th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
If you think about it, the Chinese with 1.3 billion people should have won at least 4 times the number of medals as the “little” USA with 300 million. Conclusion: There is a higher percentage of world-class athletes in the USA than there is in China. Any rational comments?
August 24th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
I noticed that one of the Chinese girls gymnatics team member have not even grown their permanent teeth yet.That was one of the first things I noticed. All 16 year olds have their permanent teeth and that is a fact. The only reason they may not is if they had some genetic issue perhaps.
August 24th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Im with Cindy on this, if you have to find faults other their their performance then they must really be the GREATEST GYMNAST! Get a life and move on. The Girls were awesome and now lets look forward to 2012. The Chinese Girls Rule and won. They age is not in Controversy it is all the teams that didn’t win have to find a reason they didn’t win. Life is to precious to dwell on a day or two.
August 24th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Oh hay cheaters:
http://file.sunshinepress.org:54445/chinese-olympic-age-fraud-data-2008.html
August 25th, 2008 at 11:29 am
“Ivar Nelson says If you think about it, the Chinese with 1.3 billion people should have won at least 4 times the number of medals as the “little” USA with 300 million
You’re an idiot. You’re assuming all 1.3 billion Chinese are born into a modern society. Have you seen the mountainside towns and farms in China? Do you really think these people/children have the opportunities of those of that in the USA? Wake up and smell the garbage coming out of your mouth and go brush your teeth.
November 12th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Rules are made and it is up to the governing bodies to ensure they are enforced. The Olympic governing body should vet competitors prior the Games, or be ready to bare the responsibility for that neglect. Having said that, if an athlete takes part in any sport and proves themselves to be the best, then it is right that they keep the titles and medals they were awarded. It is unfair to expand the time scale of investigating so-called cheats, we could then go back to the times when east-european female athletes more resembled men. The Games are meant to bring nations together, this squabbling is driven by politics and not in the spirit of the Games.