Chinese Gymnastics Update
September 26th, 2008 filed in Olympics
It has been over a month since the closing ceremony of the Beijing games and the announcement that the IOC requested the FIG to investigate the ages of the Chinese Gymnastics Team. Apparently this scandal isn’t just being swept under the rug, because the Associated Press now has word that the investigation is ongoing and there is no timetable for when it will be finished. Furthermore, The investigation into the eligibility of the Chinese women’s team at the Beijing Olympics has been expanded to include members of the 2000 squad, which won the bronze medal in Sydney. FIG officials are examining whether Yang Yun and Dong Fangxiao, in particular, were old enough to compete in 2000.
From the article, “FIG investigating China’s 2000 team, too“:
“If we had a look at all the articles that came before, during and after the games, there were always rumors about the ages of China’s athletes in Sydney,” Andre Gueisbuhler, secretary general of the International Gymnastics Federation, told The AP on Wednesday. “We did not have another choice,” he said. “If we want to remain credible, then we have to look into things.”
Yang Yun said a debate over her age, which stemmed from a television interview she gave last year, was the result of a slip of the tongue. In the June 2007 interview that aired on state broadcaster China Central Television, Yang said she was 14 at the Sydney Games. Gymnastics rules require athletes to be 16 during an Olympic year in order to compete.
“At the time I was only 14,” she said in the interview, done in Chinese. “I thought that if I failed this time, I’ll do it again next time. There’s still hope.” That interview, which has been widely reported, contradicts her official birthdate, which is listed as Dec. 2, 1984 and made her eligible for Sydney. “Everyone has misspoken before. On television shows, there are always slips of the tongue,” Yang said Thursday, declining to comment further.
Dong Fangxiao’s birthdate is listed as Jan. 20, 1983, making her 17 at the time of the Sydney Games. Her blog, however, includes a reference to being born in 1985. When reached by the AP, Dong did not deny that her blog says she was born in the Year of the Ox in the Chinese zodiac, which would be 1985. But she refused to answer any questions about her age, saying, “I’ve left the gymnastics team.”
So the scandal that was an honorable mention on our Top 10 Sports Cheating Scandals just yesterday is back in the news. What do our cheating experts think of the latest update?
China’s Gymnasts BEAT the competition in the Olympics
Billy Beater
Haven’t these young ladies been through enough? They have produced documents verifying their ages, and there is little more anyone can do to prove their innocence. It’s not like you can cut them in half and count the rings. These athletes have competed at the highest level of the sport, and have won. We need to move on from this, and stop trying to find excuses for why the United States lost. Now the FIG wants to go back 8 years and investigate those athletes too? This is getting ridiculous.
The Chinese Gymnastics Team CHEATed in the Olympics
Chester Cheater
China has done this before? Shocking! I’m sure this comes as no surprise to most that China has cheated in the past, and will cheat in the future. This latest announcement only helps to further confirm our suspicions from the Beijing games. Poor little Yang thought she could compete again in the Olympics because she was only 14 in Sydney. So that meant she would be competing in 2004 at the age of 18? Zippy chance of that happening in your country, Yang. Your government had already used up every ounce of gymnastics performance out of your body and discarded you aside. You were quickly replaced by the next pre-pubescent pixie to come along and fly through the air. The age cheating by the Chinese Gymnastic Team is chronic, and is an example of the systemic cheating engaged in by the Chinese Olympic Team.
So what do you think? Did they CHEAT or did they BEAT?
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October 14th, 2008 at 3:52 am
For me, as long as they don’t do drugs, it’s fine by me. They trained as hard as they could. Sometimes we forgot that they are human too, since I think they do this to feed their families out of poverty.
September 29th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
I’ll start off by saying I do feel bad for the girls. I’m sure it wasn’t their decision and I’m sure they worked hard.
But.. there’s no way the one is over 16 and if you break the rules, regardless of what country you’re from, you should be investigated if you cheat.
I know that now that the Olympics have come & gone, and it doesn’t feel like an important issue anymore, but if these incidents are repeatedly swept under the rug, then there will be no motivation for countries to not do it in the future. In the world of gymnastics being younger will oftentimes give you an advantage over your competition-so these rules have been put in place to keep the competition fair,(and in the end)
Though when everything is said and done, I seriously doubt they are going to take any medals away from China.
September 29th, 2008 at 7:47 am
of course they cheated,everything they did is fake ,evevything americans did is real .
September 28th, 2008 at 3:10 am
We all know they cheated. There just needs to be away to pin all the evidence on them, which will be very hard to do.
September 27th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
[...] From:http://www.cheatorbeat.com/chinese-gymnastics-update/olympics/1060 [...]
September 27th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
There’s proof that at least one girl was underage with data from a official Chinese media website showing the discrepancy (and then later covered up). That’s not to say that the ENTIRE team should have to pay for one or two though. And let’s face it, these kids are pressured into it by a government wanting to prove their superiority and expecting unrealistic results (remember hearing how they made people sign contracts that athletes wouldn’t get injured?). I seriously doubt the kids first thought was to lie about their age so they can compete.
September 27th, 2008 at 4:04 am
Rules are rules are rules.. you break rules, then it’s cheating.. You can say let it go all you want, but if they cheated, they cheated. Heck, you have one girl from the 2000 olympics not really denying her real age, but actually confirming it.. You know the Year of the Ox girl.
You ask why 16? well lets lower it to 14.. then they’ll ask why 14? A lot of it I believe has to do with flexibility.. you are more flexible when you are younger.. puberty hits and well, yeah.. but a lot of it can also to protect the athletes, but still rules are rules are rules.
September 27th, 2008 at 12:20 am
Look, it’s not about who beat who. Kudos to the girls, they worked hard and they did have some great moments. But two things are abundantly clear. First, the judging was VERY China favorable in many spots, though not all. Second, the age limit of 16 is there for a reason… for the protection of the girls.
We all know what sort of torture the Chinese athletes are put through and if you aren’t sickened by it, then you have no right to opine. It’s wrong. If we turn our backs to the way China operates in what is supposed to be an event in which to take pride as a country, then we’ve all tarnished the meaning behind competitive sport and the Olympic spirit. For my part, China should simply be banned until they decide that freedom and being treated like a human being means something.
Here in the U.S., we support our athletes the least of all countries with government funding, yet we perform among the best time and again. Imagine if we did setup a big government funded olympic training program. How many kids would have their lives ruined because they weren’t prepared for anything but sports once they are cut or injured? How much money would be wasted? Would it even result in a higher medal count?
Instead, our competitors nearly always move on to professional sports, or more likely, into a separate career. They often stay in school during their training and are well socialized and disciplined. I doubt China can say the same about more than a handful of their children, and that’s just taking into account the ones that made it to compete at the Olympics…
September 27th, 2008 at 12:15 am
Actually, I do doubt the abilities. I don’t think it was that clear that they were better gymnasts. I thought the judging of the Gymnastics competitions was horrible. I think Bella was on point complaining about the judging, because it was horrid.