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by RedSox73 on August 14th, 2008

RedSox73

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Who thinks the Chinese women's gymnastics team members are of age to compete in the olympics?

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Answers. 9 helpful answers below.

  • by baholms on August 15th, 2008

    baholms

    There is no way they are the age they claim but proveing it is another story, well see if they mature in the next olympics

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  • by Firebrand on August 14th, 2008

    Firebrand

    Even if they are not we will never know a Government says they are of official age and they have documentation to back it up.

    They certainly deserved the medals they won if they are legally entitled or not.

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  • by bagicide stayed 10 months too long on August 15th, 2008

    bagicide stayed 10 months too long

    One of my friends adopted a child from China who never had a birth certificate. They've had to guess her age. It seems that if the child is undesirable or if the government has a reason for wanting the childs age to be unknown, they just don't issue one. I would guess that is the case here.

    The one little girl seems to be about 11 or 12. She may deserve the medal, but the country doesn't deserve it for taking her from her parents and exploiting her. As hard as those girls have trained to be ready at this age, I wonder if they've had any schooling at all. I wonder if they can even read. My freinds child was born without hands. She was a pre-teen or just into her teens when they adopted her. The orphanage had taught her to beg, but nothing else. Here in the states, she learned English at a phenomenal rate and is excelling in school. There was never anything wrong with her brains, just because her hands were missing.

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  • by Galeanda on August 15th, 2008

    Galeanda

    They didn't turn over birth certificates, only passport, visa type identification, just like anyone else entering the Games. But everyone knows they are 14 years old, or most of them are. There is too much 'paperwork' and media stories on them already to cover it up

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  • by Someguy on August 14th, 2008

    Someguy

    http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/gymnastics/news/story?id=3534544

    It seems that even the Chinese don't believe they are.

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  • by needtoknow on August 14th, 2008

    needtoknow

    They have given their birth certificates and the chinese are small women. I think they did a much better job on the bars and floor exercises than the Americans, so maybe, it is sour grapes.

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  • by Cipher on August 14th, 2008

    Cipher

    Looks like they might have been caught in a big fib.

    (http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/gymnastics/news?slug=ap-gym--underagechinese&prov=ap&type=lgns)


    State-media story fuels questions on gymnast’s age

    By JOHN LEICESTER, Associated Press Writer


    BEIJING - AUGUST 13: He Kexin of China reacts after competing in the uneven bars during the artistic gymnastics team event at the National Indoor Stadium during Day 5 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 13, 2008 in Beijing, China.

    BEIJING (AP)—Just nine months before the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government’s news agency, Xinhua, reported that gymnast He Kexin was 13, which would have made her ineligible to be on the team that won a gold medal this week.

    In its report Nov. 3, Xinhua identified He 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. In the final, “this little girl” pulled off a difficult release move on the bars known as the Li Na, named for another Chinese gymnast, Xinhua said in the report, which appeared on one of its Web sites, www.hb.xinhuanet.com

    The Associated Press found the Xinhua report on the site Thursday morning and saved a copy of the page. Later that afternoon, the Web site was still working but the page was no longer accessible. Sports editors at the state-run news agency would not comment for publication.

    If the age reported by Xinhua was correct, that would have meant He was too young to be on the Chinese team that beat the United States on Wednesday and clinched China’s first women’s team Olympic gold in gymnastics. He is also a favorite for gold in Monday’s uneven bars final.

    Yang was also on Wednesday’s winning team. Questions have also been raised about her age and that of a third team member, Jiang Yuyuan.

    Gymnasts have to be 16 during the Olympic year to be eligible for the games. He’s birthday is listed as Jan. 1, 1992.

    Chinese authorities insist that all three are old enough to compete. He herself told reporters after Wednesday’s final that “my real age is 16. I don’t pay any attention to what everyone says.”

    Zhang Hongliang, an official with China’s gymnastics delegation at the games, said Thursday the differing ages which have appeared in Chinese media reports had not been checked in advance with the gymnastics federation.

    “It’s definitely a mistake,” Zhang said of the Xinhua report, speaking in a telephone interview. “Never has any media outlet called me to check the athletes’ ages.”

    Asked whether the federation had changed their ages to make them eligible, Zhang said: “We are a sports department. How would we have the ability to do that?”

    “We already explained this very clearly. There’s no need to discuss this thing again.”

    The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) has said repeatedly that a passport is the “accepted proof of a gymnast’s eligibility,” and that He and China’s other gymnasts have presented ones that show they are age eligible. The IOC also checked the girls’ passports and deemed them valid.

    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 corrected to list her as 16.

    “This is not a USAG issue,” said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. “The FIG and the IOC are the proper bodies to handle this.”

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  • by Cowboy-Matter of Fact on August 17th, 2008

    Cowboy-Matter of Fact

    From Time.com:

    According to their passports, which determine Olympic eligibility, He Kexin, Jiang Yuyuan and Yang Yilin are all 16. But Chinese online records and local newspaper articles have presented different information, raising questions about these three gynmasts' true ages. A 2006 biography from the local sports bureau where He was registered gave her date of birth as January 1, 1994, which would make her 14. A story earlier this year in the China Daily, the country's largest English-language newspaper, also reported that she is 14 years old. Another local-level competition roll had the date of birth of Jiang, who is only 32 kg (70.5 lbs.), as October 1, 1993, making her also 14. And from 2004-2006, the biographical data for Yang on the State General Administration of Sport's website listed her date of birth as August 26, 1993, one year later than what Beijing Olympic records show.

    They cheated. No one should be surprised.

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  • by Piggle on August 15th, 2008

    Piggle

    I don't think there should be a qualifying age - if they are capable of competing at Olympic standard then let them in....

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