Did the Chinese lie about their female gymnastic ages?

Question

China named its Olympic women’s gymnastics team on Friday, and the inclusion of at least two athletes has further raised questions, widespread in the sport, about whether the host nation for the Beijing Games is using under-age competitors.

Times with copies of passports indicating that both athletes in question — He Kexin, a gold-medal favorite in the uneven parallel bars, and Jiang Yuyuan — are 16, the minimum age for Olympic eligibility since 1997.

After China outscored the U.S. in the qualification round, Karolyi had this to say about the Chinese gymnastics officials:

These people think we are stupid...We are in the business of gymnastics. We know what a kid of 14 or 15 or 16 looks like. What kind of slap in the face is this? They are 12, 14 years old and they get lined up and the government backs them and the federation runs away. There is an age limit and it can't be controlled.

Answer 1

Just because the Americans blew it (which they did) doesn't mean it's okay that China lied.  And they did.  Of course, what do you expect from a totalitarian government?

Answer 2

No. I think the Chinese deserved it Fair and square. As a fellow American I ask for you not to look for excuses but to congratulate China.

Congratulations and Good Luck China!

Go Team USA!

Answer 3

are you TRYING to create problems? do you KNOW how many times this qustion has been asked? why bring it up the millionth time? Do you NEED to make excuses for why the americans lost or something. Just leave them alone, seroiusly. Karolyi is a woman and she is saying those things, how mature! (sarcasm)

Answer 4

Karolyi should grow up and stop acting childish. I'm 22 and I look 16. I get carded whenever I try to go out. China deserves it and theyre an amazing team. US is an amazing team as well, so it all came down to skills. If the US has older atheletes shouldnt that mean that they have better skills since theyve had more years of practise?? Age shouldnt matter now should it??

Answer 5

Its a chinese cover up.  

Answer 6

I don't get why people are saying we need to get over it. We were saying that they were underage even before the competition in Beijing ever started.

I don't think there should be an age limit, if you are the best.... show that you're the best. however, since there is an age limit. I think all gymnast should have to show a birth-certficate.. no matter WHAT country they come from!

Answer 7

Karolyi is a grown woman and she calls the chinese gymnasts babies. Sounds very mature huh?

Answer 8

Please. We have lots of other questions about this. There is no real way to know if they lied or not.

Answer 9

well, they don't look 16, but olympic gymnasts generally don't develop properly and they hot puberty later in life and their hormones get messed up. Also, Chinese people are genetically smaller than most other people from different nationalities o I just think we'll never know.

I will admit they do look like children (not just size wise) but I don't think this would have been brought up if USA had done better so...

Answer 10

if a girl is smaller and lighter then the ratio nad velocity in the air can be achieved easier.  Those tiny girls weigh 70LBS!!! look at shawn she is like 90lbs and 4'9.  Of course the chinese team is very talented but their height and weight made them win the gold.  

I think cheating is unfair, if those girls really are 16 then someone needs to call a doctor because they should be dead because the weight is low and they are not growing.

Answer 11

maybe because you are stupid, who are you to accuse them of their age, just because of how they look? maybe they aren't exactly 14, 15, 16, but who are you to deny that. do you have any proof?

Answer 12

No, they did not lie.  asian are smaller than america.  the americas need to get over it.  they lost to the chinese get over it.  

Answer 13

Stop crying about this, I'm an american and watched the amateur mistakes the usa gymnast did.  We should be upset with our own performances of stepping out of bounds, falling down on your back, rookie mistakes is why i am mad.  Petty age cheating is for sore losers.  Man up and take the defeat and move on.

Answer 14

first i will say that we, the usa, got the medal we deserved. silver. the chinese outperformed. and, in my opinion, the chinese would have still won even if sacramone hadn't fallen, so people shouldn't be so hard on her either. i would not go as far as to say that the chinese won because of their size.

HOWEVER....doesn't it seem like a huge coincidence that 4 out of china's 6 best gymnasts just happened to be 16 the year the Olympics came? hmm thats lucky. and strange that their own newspapers cited the girls ages as younger previously? i didn't question their ages when i was watching but after those articles have come to light im pretty sure at least 1 or 2 are not 16. but oh well. nothing is going to happen about it and there is no use crying over it. silver is good.

Answer 15

The whole world knows that the Chinese Gymnasts  are not 16 and they lied about their age. Its sad that  IOC isn't doing anything