Chinese gymnasts: Age OK, says FIG

BEIJING -- FIG, the governing body for international gymnastics, has issued a statement affirming its belief that all the competitors on the Chinese gymnastics team are age-eligible for the Olympics.

According to FIG: "The FIG has received confirmation from the International Olympic Committee that all passports are valid for all gymnasts competing in the Beijing Olympic Games. Stringent control measures are taken at the time of the athlete accreditation for all official FIG competitions. Further, all athlete ages for the Beijing Olympic Games are consistent with the FIG records for all past FIG competitions. The accepted proof of a gymnast's eligibility for competition is a valid passport issued by the country of residence."

So those pesky provincial registration forms that listed birth dates that would make three Chinese women -- He Kexin, Yang Yilin and Jiang Yuyuan -- too young for the Games and the numerous stories in Chinese-language newspapers last year that listed He as 13 until she began posting high scores on uneven bars are of no importance to the FIG.

It is perhaps time to rethink the age requirement, which was instituted supposedly to keep young athletes from training too hard at an age when their bones are still developing.

   -- Diane Pucin

Photo: Jiang Yuyuan of China performs her routine for the floor exercise during a practice session for the Beijing Games. Credit: Lluis Gene /AFP /Getty Images.

Comments

[Lspillman]

The Chinese are cheaters. No need for them to "save face," as they already lost it by cheating. It's disgusting.

[sammy]

what makes you think that they're cheating? they provided the proof that was required. there's nothing more you can do! Lspillman, you are a philistine

[outrage]

These girls are not 16. My parents are Indian, and they have told me about much forging of passports and the like. There is no question that the US is being cheated not only by these girls but by the Chinese Government. GO USA!!

[stupidgirl]

It is not their size that makes them seem young. Many gymnasts and other female athletes stay very petite. It is all in their faces. If you spend time around adolescent girls, there are distinct differences in their faces as they get older, regardless of the size of their bodies.

[serious]

if you look at the above picture, that girl's face does not look much past 13 ... i wouldn't put it past them

[bob]

..China..need i say anything else?

[Jane Doe]

Isn't it funny that one of the girls is young enough to compete in November 2007 when the age requirements were 13-15, and now, in August 2008, is old enough to compete in the Olympics. Her birth records on more that one site, indicate a birthdate of 1/1/1994 - 14 years old. Another doesn't turn 15 until the Fall. (???) Something's wrong here. But until someone files an official complaint, nothing can be done.

[Registrars Office of Sport - China]

Here how it works. They have poor record keeping in rural areas - even with the best of paperwork from these rural areas is negated when passports and other documentation is reissued in major providences. Its a legal "clause" more or less that exists in many countries.

It may be very true that they are underage but the FIG and Olympic Committee cannot do anything about it. Its a hole thats being taken advantage of similar to how the US doped and used HGH prior to testing advancements as of recently.

[johnsmith]

..China..need i say anything else?
-----
..Marion Jones..need I say anything else?

Those games are always dirty, and so are americans... no need to point fingers.

[Bill]

Whether those Chinese girls are over age 16 or not (and I doubt it), women's gymnastics is probably the most exploitative sport of females in the summer Olympics...though what I saw today on women's synchronized diving placed a close second. Its a formula for success.... Find the smallest, but extremely talented kids you can.... who are compact and "elegant".... looks nice to the judges... and they have lots of energy to invest in living up to the expectations of their coaches. The announcers admit as much. The bigger you are in gymnastics, the more awkward you can look, even with a great routine. (The same goes for figure skating in the Winter Olympics, if you look at the women skaters from Japan and China)

Face it, the Chinese are the new East Germans and Russians.... grab kids when they're barely out of diapers, and stuff them into state-subsidized training. Life in a country of over a billion people that is is so tough and regulated, what are the parents going to do...object? In years gone by, the East Germans and Russians used the Olympics to showcase the presumed advantages of their "philosophies," and China is doing the same now.... no surprise. They want to be recognized. Its a regimented society, and if they want to cull their billion-plus population to find the potentially best athletes, they'll do it. And they'll devote government funding to the training process.

Not that the USA is that much better, but that's a topic for another e-rant. Our women gymnasts and divers probably aren't much too less exploited than the Chinese -- except that its our country's parents who freely decide to put their kids into that system....not the government.

The "pride" of a nation depends on the performance of 16-20 year old girls??... PLEASE, gimme a break --- and give THEM a break.

[邱迪和]

I am of Chinese decent and while east Asian do tend to have a different skin that makes them seem younger it, in my opinion is not noticeable until the individual is of much OLDER age. I do think the Chinese are cheating, their voices(2 of them, Cheng Fei seem legit to me) sound like 12 years olds. I think one of them Jiang Yuyuan is about 14, but Deng Linlin is the big one, she seems to be 12 or 10 years old her voice is like that of someone in the freak 6th grade. Her face is young, she is the very obvious one. I do not know why the Chinese government would cheat on something so trivial but all i know is that it makes the Chinese people look bad. The old guy interviewed on MBC said it right, they are underage. I've met Native Chinese ones that barley know English who are 16 and they still look older then these 2, and as a matter of fact some look older. These two are undoubtedly underage.

[Mikey]

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...But you can be a chinese gold medalist...

[Ken]

There's no way they could be of age unless they have a type of genetic defect that delays development. Which would show up in their blood tests they are required to take to check against doping. Anyone living in an area that has a mixed population containing Vietnamese, Chinese, Koreans, Japanese, Thias, etc. and has girls in the 12-16 year range that play on sports teams with them and goes to school with them can tell that these girls aren't developed enough. I've seen 10 year old girls in the US that look older than these girls. My son is 14 and the first thing out of his mouth was, "No way!" I know Asians seem to age slower, but come on China. Do you actually think you're fooling anyone? We've seen the advantage of smaller girls already. The Americans could barely stay within the square due to their larger (proper) size. The truth will surface in time, medals will be stripped and the controversy will continue into the next Olympics. Even a suppressed society like China will let the truth be known.

[johnsmith]

I don't really think China won the gold, rather it looks like US lost the gold... They had great chance considering Shawn Johnson is probably the best gymnast out there, and they were only down by a little bit before the balance beam, and the Chinese girl actually fall from the beam... oh well...

[Over16 in USA]

So the country that said one little girl was "NOT CUTE ENOUGH" to sing in the opening ceremony and instead place a little girl who looked better to "lip sync" to the entire live audience is now stating that the ages of the women (little girls) gymnastics team are all over 16 years of age during 2008???? Is this the year of the DOG were the year is equal to 7 years??? Who is doing the math on this one...

At least our USA Women’s Gymnastics team is competing as required and will continue to live in a country that will open many opportunities to them after this Olympics is over. My heart goes out to our USA Team to do their best as I will be cheering for them!!!!
USA #1!!!

[Cheaters]

What else does China and other 3rd world countries have to look forward to but the Olympics? Victory at all costs is the motto.

[Julie]

I can't wait to see them stripped of their Gold medal in the years to come. Someone should keep track of them in the future and see if their ages change!

GO USA!!!!

[Marcus]

China cheats! The International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed China to cheat, lacking a spine because it is politically inconvenient to tell the host country—the communist, one party, human right abusers—that they falsified the passports of the underage girls on their women's Olympic gymnastics team. This sends a wonderful message: it is alright to cheat so long as you get away with it. China is a joke and the IOC lacks a spine!

[Ad-again]

When the world thinks of China they think "FAKE." Fake DVD's, Fake Olympic singers, Fake Firework Footprints, Fake Passports, Fake Pollution Reports. They should change the name of China to just "FAKE" or "The Peoples Republic of Fake." I think in the aftermath of the Olympics China will regret they ever had held it. The longer the world is there the more they are exposed as a fraud.

[Againstcounterfeit]

What do you expect? This is China. The greatest state sponsered counterfeit country in the earth. I have a lot of respect for the Chinese People but not for their commmunist government. Wake up Chinese citizens. This behavior do more harm to your country image than the joy of getting a few more gold medals. Fight for the truth and save your country's image. Do not look at the bad guys in the US sports and say: "I can do the same" . Distinct what is the work of individual and what is state sponsered one. Put your arrogant nationalism away and face the truth. Until then, your dream of having the whole world respect China as a world power is quite a distance. Cheating wins you gold but can not make people respect you. What 's a shame of the IOC for doing nothing.

[Mike]

Wouldn't it be easy for Child Development Experts to look at 1)Teeth 2)bone structure, etc., to determine age. All documents can be forged, especially with a Government that has a vested interest in proof they are 16. It's obvious in so many ways at these Olympics the Government is subtly and not so subtly managing everything from faking the opening ceremony "Footprint Display", the lip-synching of the young girl, pulling Joey Cheek's Visa, using "Volunteers" dressed in Yellow T-Shirts to fill empty stadiums, and generally playing the Wizard of Oz behind the Red Curtain. We are all being fooled and acting as accomplices to the Chinese Government's cynical show in Beijing. BTW I lived in Beijing in 1994 & 1995.

[Dee]

My husband thought I was crazy last night when I paused the t.v. to look at Deng Linlin after the bar routine....I happened to notice when she was smiling ear to ear that she was missing one of her incisors. I have 8 year old twins who just lost their incisors. Is it me or do the chinese lose their teeth at a later age? Funny enough the U.S. gymnastic coach said the same thing. We must be seeing things!
China can keep the gold medal, but we know who really won.

[Cory]

So, China is cheating by using underage girls and nobody is doing anything about it?!?

[Tina]

Ok I look really young for my age but when I was 16, I do looked like 14 years old and I am asian.. but one of the gymnast looked liek she is 8 to 9 yrs old.. she was so young.. I dont believe she is 16.. Look at her body, it looks too young.

I never trusted china for anything but this one made me throw up...

[Jon]

To those that bring up doping among American contestants as a counter to the Chinese gymnast age issue, you are missing one major distinction. When doping was suspected among high profile athletes in this country, many were brought before congress to testify and some are now imprisoned. They have been stripped of their medals. Are we perfect? No. But those that chose to cheat in this country did so of their own volition. In China they select athletes at a young age for a sport and the Government falsified their documents when they started performing well. the Chinese Government is not only complicit but a purveyor of the act. This is state sponsored cheating. I don't understand how a ruse so transparent could possibly be a source of pride when it really should be exceedingly shameful.