- Mar 5, 2008
- 2,233
- 510
Here is an article reagrding 2 Chinese gymnasts that may not be old enough to compete in Beijing.
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We're dealing with a brutal authoritarian state, dear. Nothing would surprise me. It's not that surprising, coming from China (or any other major competitor, really). People don't want to piss off China for fear of losing a trade partner, or spooking China's leaders (who are slowly moving towards capitalism).I don't get why they feel the need to cheat.....Does anyone there think they will earn the world's respect if they get caught cheating?
At this point, my complaint is for all the other athletes (Jordyn Wieber and the girl from Canada come to mind) whose countries followed the rules and didn't allow them to compete yet. If FIG isn't going to enforce the rules, why bother to have them?
In China, isn't there a different way of computing age? I read somewhere that some countries or religions start counting your age from conception, not your actual birth date. In this case, you would need to subtract 9 months from the age that they are reporting. Just a thought.
I can't honestly say that I don't think China are cheating, because I do have my suspicions, but I don't think it is fair to say that we should not enjoy their gymnastics anymore and hate their country. There is no absolute 100% solid proof that they have cheated, so I dont think its fair to jump the gun, alot of these articles are American, and ofcourse Americans will be annoyed and frustrated even if their is a hint of cheating, as they are the main contenders, but America have cheated in the past (I am not excusing China, IF they are cheating) and it's unfair to slaughter China for what the media have said, it is the MEDIA after all! To be honest, China have deserved a gold medal for ages, and they have always been stripped of it, and I hope they win, because I think they deserve it, their gymnastics is perfection.
Shawn which Canadian girl were you referring to? There are 3 girls all born in 1993 who I can't wait to watch next year. There's Peng Peng Lee from Toronto, Ontario who trains with 2008 Olympian Elyse Hopfner Hibbs and who's coaches are closing their gym and retiring (her male coach) and moving to England (her female coach). There's also Charlotte Mackie (younger sister of 2004 Olympian Gael) and Brittany Rogers, both from the same gym in British Columbia (I don't know how to spell the name of their town).
I honestly don't remember her name but there was a thread about here on CB not too long ago. She just turned 16 but hasn't had enough time to earn enough points to compete. If age wasn't an issue, she would have been able to start earning points a long time ago. Of course, I think she's suffered an injury recently.
Now that being said, I think the IOC probably has rules for how age should be calculated to ensure that it is the same for everyone. And those rules need to be followed. If they are found to be in violation of the rules, the athletes need to be sanctioned and the country should too if there is any wrongdoing on the part of that country's government. Not saying that it did or did not occur in this case, but if it is found to have occurred, the rules need to be enforced.
I believe the IOC uses the year a person was born to determine eligibility, i.e. must be born in 1992 or earlier, to eliminate the cultural differences in age. We just all say "must be 16 in olympic year" because it's easier to remember and is the equivalent of birth year in the USA culture.
I actually really hope she is underaged. I know it isn't fair to gymnasts like Nastia who couldn't go to 04, but the age restriction is so dumb. AND P.S. YOU GUYS! IT'S NOT PROVEN SHE ISN'T 16! He Kexin is a great UB worker and we will miss out on some great gymnastics if she doesn't go to the Olympics. She may not be as good in London and then I would be very upset if she wasn't able to go. Another example of this is. Kim Gwang Suk at 1989. We would have missed out on that if they didn't lie about her age.