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

[Doug]

Yes, I believe that the Chinese probably used under-aged girls to compete in the women's gymnatics, which is breaking the rules (and technically is considered "cheating").

However, I think that this rule was implemented NOT because it would give an unfair advantage to teams using underage girls, but rather to help curb the daunting pressures of competing at an international level for young girls who are too young to handle both the physical and emotional regimen. This rule was made for ethical purposes, but not necessarily for unfair advantage reasons. If you think about it, these under-aged girls will only get better as they reach 16-20 years old (which I believe is the peak physical age for women gymnasts) because they would have more experience, and better conditioning. Look at Shawn Johnson. She is far better now at age 16 (and probably even more better in a couple more years), then she was at age 14, right? So again, being under-aged does NOT necessarily give you an advantage.

So, do I think that China "cheated" by doing something that would give them an unfair advantage in performance? No. Being under-aged does not give a better result (in fact, in most cases, it does the opposite). China beat the US with no unfair "performance" advantage. But, do I think that China broke the rules (if they, in fact, used under-aged girls)? Yes.

However, whether or not China should be punished for this is not for me to decide.

[FTheReds]

*** 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 *** Lol - they showed in the opening ceremonies they were willing to doctor things up (lip syncing, adding fireworks to broadcast video)...

We know they can easily doctor up passports.

[Bah]

I'm Chinese and I also think those girls are under age. Baby teeth at 16? Please! It also doesn't surprise me one bit that the IOC turned a blind eye. That organization lost all my respect as soon as they announced Beijing as host of the 2008s.

Doesn't the LATimes article state that FIG only went by the IOC's confirmation of their passports? So much for independent verification!

[USAFan33]

The Chinese Cheered for Phelps and NBA players for their performances in the games. The fact is that team USA made two major mistakes in the last two events and handed the gold over to the Chinese. Let's be proud Americans, and move on.

GO USA!!

[jj]

pathetic writers. Just win the damn game and shut up. Since when Americans are so inconfident and obsessed with whinning?

[Jon]

With respect, Doug, the fact is that being under age does give a significant advantage in gymnastics. The average weight of the Chinese team was 77 pounds compared with 106 pounds on the american team. This is a significant advantage when you calculate stress and loads for doing aerial tricks on the uneven bars (strength to weight ratios are smaller). Also, there is evidence that suggests athletes are more fearless when doing these tricks.

They made the 16 year age limit because skeletal systems and bone structure are still developing below this age, and for psychological development I suppose. China was exploiting an advantage that younger age confers (low body weight to strength ratios) for the sake of winning. This demonstrates little regard for the well being of the athlete caught in the middle.

[Amy]

My husband is a China born Chinese. He is 36 now. But he does look like 18.

I also have a Chinese student who is 23. She looks like a small teenager.

No one questions the age of the male Chinese gymnast, Zou Kai, who is 20. How old does he look to you, if you did not know his age? To me, anyway, he looks like a simple-minded happy teenager.

[CAT]

This has been an issue before. I don't remember which Olympics (it was since 1992), but the Romanians were being accused of the same. And Bela Karolyi made the same comment about their teeth! Gymnasts (I was one for 10 years) are usually small, and many are under-developed for various reasons. I do think the Chinese girls looked MUCH younger than 16. What, however, can we really do besides speculate? The Chinese, whatever their ages, outperformed the US, so it shouldn't be about gold or silver. It should be about the health and well-being of these athletes. These Chinese gymnasts are part of a "gymnastics machine" as were the Russians and Romanians of the '70s - '90s. They are chosen to become gymnasts, whereas in the US and other countries, these young girls have more of a say in their "careers" as gymnasts. These young Chinese girls are a paycheck for their families. Maybe some are in it because they love it, but some, sadly, are not. I think it's good the IOC and FIG have changed the age (of course, wasn't the famous Nadia only 14 when she scored her first "perfect ten" in '76?) to 16. A certain maturity and presence is needed to compete on the Olympic state. But then again, whose team showed more nerves...China or US? We spectators should let the Chinese enjoy their moment to shine.

[Heather]

I watched this event last night and I have to say...as far as performance goes, the Chinese girls were better. Especially in the last segment. There was such an ease and grace to their routines, as if their bodies flowed naturally. The USA girls...they just didn't have that. They were too stiff, too nervous, and it showed.

Personally, my opinion is that China was BETTER, performance wise and deserves the Gold. However, if they lied about the ages (which, I agree those girls are not 16) that speaks poorly of them. But I do not think they should be stripped of their medals when their athletic ability and performance had them deserving the medal.

[mitchell]

OH Please, young or old those girl handed us a beat down. Our aloppy girls fell apart when they had a chance to win. Nobody was cheated, the United States lost. We are so pathetic in this country. The Chinese girls put in the time and work to be on the floor. I can care less if they were five. They kicked our butts. They were on point, and extremely aggressive with their routines. And, let's talk about cheat. You cannot tell me that the two injured girls were not shot up with some serious pain killer for them to peform. Is that legal. Take them behind the scene and give them drugs to land a damage knee and ankle?

[john]

Also, there is evidence that suggests athletes are more fearless when doing these tricks.
-------------------
Wrong, there is no evidence. This is only someone's opinion, and in my opinion, she was a sour grape.

They made the 16 year age limit because skeletal systems and bone structure are still developing below this age, and for psychological development I suppose.
----------------------
If this is the case, how do you explain all the junior level completions of gymnastic? Shawn Johnson has proven herself in a junior event, and she was better than the seniors. Should she stop training because she was under aged?

I do think the ages are questionable, however, there is no proof at this point, and unless you've seen enough Chinese kids to make the judgment, everyone is just speculating here. Remember, Asian in US does not equal to Asian in China, for one thing, I don't really think they eat much beef and drink enough milk...

Also, I really don't think it would be an issue if US had won the gold medal, Karolyis is sour... haha... very sour...

[Doug]

Jon, thanks for your thoughful reply to my comments.

But I would have to respectfully disagree. Yes, there are a few advantages of being younger such as being lighter and maybe more resilient. However, I'm not sure about the power-to-weight ratio though because I know that I can definitely do a lot more pullups/pushups/whatever now at the age of 29, than I could ever do as a preteen/teen; same goes for my girlfriend) Also, I'm not too sure about the 'fearlessness' factor, because I know a lot of young preteens who 'choke' during championship junior sports. If preteens are aware of the magnitude of a little leage championship game, i'm sure that these girls are also aware of the magnitude of an international stage such as the olympics.

I understand the age-limit rules are in place to help prevent obsessive stress on developing bodies. This is something I totally AGREE with. But again, China breaking the age-limit rules are more of an 'ethical' issue concerning the well-being of the young girls rather than China having an unfair advantage in performance.

Basically what I am trying to say is that China beat the US because of sheer skill-level and not because of age. Yes, there are one or two intrinsic advantages of being under-aged such as being lighter and maybe being more resilient. But being at the prime gymnast age of 16-20 years has an overall advantage due to being at one's physical prime and having more experience/time to train in order to sharpen one's gymnastics skills.

For instance, if we could magically turn the US girls back into 14 year olds, with their 14 year old skill level and mental age, they would have done worse against the Chinese. Every single girl on the US team is better than they were than back when they were 14, even though they would have the advantage of being lighter and more 'fearless' then they are now, right? Thus, OVERALL, having 14 year olds compete on the China team do not give an unfair performance advantage; in fact, i would argue that there are more disadvantages than advantages.

Let's focus on what the real issue is concerning the under-age situation; China, by using under-aged girls, did not have an unfair advantage that led them to gold. (Lets get over this; they were simply better, younger or not). Rather the human-rights issue and letting 'kids-be-kids' should be our focus.

[bb]

Why the big fuss when US did not get the gold? Did any of the chinese cast a spell on Alicia that she went out of the border and another time landed and almost sat down.The Chinese also made mistakes but they did better on the floor I applaud Shawn Johnson for her comment that the chinese did a good job.. The Chinese did not come after the americans asking for their kids did they? The people out there out of their poverty send the children when they are young.. Americans being in a rich country do not know to what extent people will go to put food on the table.. Learn to accept defeat when you have to....

[boathouse]

Get over it Americans. You are just mad most of your daughters look 21 y.o. when 13. 25y.o. when 18, and 33y.o. when 22y.o. I have met many asian women in college and many of them even as graduate students could pass for a 14-18 year old. Your kids are big cows, what is the obesity rate amongst American youths again? Thats right I remember 30%. Just face the facts you lost. Sore losers.

[WT]

Even if the Chinese team were to wait a couple years to compete, they will still beat the U.S. team. Take a look at all the skilled Chinese acrobats, most are way past the "16 year old" limit. These athletes train ALL their lives, all this "let kids be kids" jargon will not let them meet their potential.

It's all about the physical and psychological conditioning. I hate to say this, but the girls on the U.S. team are just not as physical polished as their nemesis. They may have the bulky strength, but that doesn't help when your body is not lighter and balanced. The excuse of older teens not taking on risky manuevers, bull spittle. What about all the extreme sports athletes, most are older, in their twenties, and they don't have a mat. Who's that U.S. gymnast who stuck her landing on a sprained/broken ankle? Hmmm...

Don't look for external causes for failure, look inwards. Push your kids to make this one difference ONCE in their lifetimes.

[calvin]

My opinion is it doesnt really matter because its just an age. I mean if China chooses to use less experinced and younger girls just let them and if they did lose it would've been their fault.

[calvin]

Oh yeah and also how is it cheating when your just under aged

[CALVIN]

AND PLUS!!!!!!!!
THAT SCORING WAS SOOOO RIGGED
ONE CHINESE GIRL FELL OFF AND LOST HER BALANCE MORE THAT 4 TIMES AND SHE GOT A BETTER SCORE THAT THE AMERICAN WHO DID HER ROUTINE PERFECTLY

[steve]

The entire world was cheated on this one, not just Americans. Yes, Americans will wine about it. We're bad winners, and worse losers. However, we are a lot more gracious losers when we lose in a fair fight. Younger gymnasts have huge advantages from a kinesiology standpoint ... more flexible, lighter (the Chinese girls are 30lbs lighter than the averages of the other teams' gymnasts), have smaller ranges of motion to go through for a given stunt, fit on size-dependent aparatus better (like the beam), etc. To top that off, younger gymnasts haven't developed as much mental capacity, so they don't feel the "burder" of competition like the older gymnasts who often "choke" as a result. THIS is why every country in the world (the USA included) would use younger gymnasts if it weren't against the rules. Nonetheless, the three Chinese girls were well documented as being underage until the communist government magically supplied some freshly printed documentation to the contrary. If you research the Chinese philosophy of cheating via age (both up and down), you'll see that it is extremely common in that country. It should come as no surprise that they pulled this stunt off in the Olympics.

To those who say that the Chinese were just better... I disagree. The Chinese 13-year olds were better than gauky American teenagers - yes. However, it's not a fair fight unless you throw younger, slimmer, lighter, more flexible, less mentally developed 13-year-old American gymnasts into the competiton. If they beat us then, fine. However, what we saw in their female gymnasts is akin to a sprinter using steroids as far as I'm concerned. It's cheating, and it's a "competition" that will yield no usefull results... like men racing women (hahah... let the sexist complaints begin!)

People will say that Americans are complainers and cheaters too... but here's the difference. The American athletes are there as individuals... athletes who have decided to compete of their own free will, independent of the US government, and in some cases independent of the official US Olympic coaches (like Shawn Johnson). The Chinese cheaters are government sponsered, government controlled fraud. I don't blame the athletes... they'd probably be imprisoned or worse if they told their true ages. However, the cheating communist Chinese government is despicable in a competition that is suppose to embrace fair competition among the nations of the world.

On a side note, while Americans are certainly a fat (and happy/wealthy) people, the obese populations of urban Chinese are rising far faster that those of the USA. Current estimates put the average Chinese city at 30% overweight. Even funnier is that in wealthier cities like Bejing, estimates are that up to 60% of the youth populus is overweight. So don't try to tell me that these Communist raised, pedigreed athletes/publicity models didn't get adequate nutrition to look as old as a 16-year-old should. These Chinese girls aren't poor farm girls from some rice padi... they are elite government workers who get all the perks (and who's families get impressive spoils for letting the communist government take them). They don't look 16 because they aren't. Sure, America got cheated, but so did EVERYBODY ELSE TOO! If you're too non-competitive to care, you must come from a socialist country where competition is useless because your government just redistributes your wealth to undeserving individuals who do nothing to better their own situation. In America, we "play" to win, because winners get stuff... and that's how it should be.

[m.a.]

I am a female Chinese-American. I am 26 years old, but was carded last year in Vegas by a casino employee who said my driver's license was a fake and I couldn't possibly be older than 16. Chinese often look younger than they actually are.

I am surprised no one has mentioned this, but the Chinese calculate their "Chinese age" differently than Americans calculate their age. It's a system that uses the Chinese lunar year. By contrast, Americans calculate their "Gregorian age" using the solar calendar. The result is that a person's "Chinese age" may be up to 2 years greater than their "Gregorian age." Point being, some of the gymnasts might be saying they are 16 and believe themselves to not be lying, simply because it is their true Chinese age. They might not understand the difference.

I would assume FIG is actually checking the competitors' birth dates (rather than just ages) off their passports, which wouldn't be affected by this. I think it is probable that three of the girls are actually underage, based on data from 2006 that has their birth dates listed. I would not be surprised if their passports were altered to reflect a false birth date.

[Your Neighborhood Patriot]

Comparing this age controversy to using a lip-syncing little girl in the Opening Ceremony is ridiculous. Musicians & performers worldwide do it all the time. It's far more of a director's decision than one sanctioned and doctored by the evil commie government.

On the subject of physiology, it's impossible to eliminate natural differences in development between people of different races. Certainly it's an advantage for women to be lighter in gymnastics, giving Asians an edge, but then again, don't Walsh & Treanor have the advantage against the short Japanese team they played first? Obesity rates are completely unrelated to the subject at hand, as firstly, Olympic athletes would not be obese, and secondly, obesity doesn't change the natural difference in fat distribution between a Chinese woman and an American woman. American women are just curvier on average, comparing 16 year olds from both countries. Asian women, on the other hand, tend to be flat as boards in the front and back. If that's going to give them the advantage in gymnastics, so be it.

And Steve? Don't bring differences in political philosophy into this discussion. It's clear by your overly dramatized vilification of the Chinese government that you're quite possibly a narrow-minded xenophobe. Your worship of American capitalism to the negation of all alternatives simply proves the American propaganda machine, whether you see it or not, is just as effective as its Chinese counterpart.

[Dee]

FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE PEOPLE........RULES ARE RULES! Yes, the Chinese girls were better, but the rules simply state that you must be 16. Closed case.

[WT]

In response to "steve" August 14, 2008 at 12:21 AM:
"Younger gymnasts have huge advantages from a kinesiology standpoint ... more flexible, lighter (the Chinese girls are 30lbs lighter than the averages of the other teams' gymnasts), have smaller ranges of motion to go through for a given stunt, fit on size-dependent aparatus better (like the beam), etc."
-- do some research into the profiles of the 1996 USA Women's Gymnastics team. Only one girl was under 16.

"To top that off, younger gymnasts haven't developed as much mental capacity, so they don't feel the "burder" of competition like the older gymnasts who often "choke" as a result. "
-- Kerri Strug was 18 when she decided to compete on a sprained ankle.

"I don't blame the athletes... they'd probably be imprisoned or worse if they told their true ages." & "These Chinese girls aren't poor farm girls from some rice padi... they are elite government workers who get all the perks (and who's families get impressive spoils for letting the communist government take them)."
-- Two conflicting statements. One, the government is forcing these athletes to compete... then you turn around and say they have all the "perks". Make up your mind. Truth is, these Chinese girls did have some choice. They choose gymnastics so they can better their own and their families living situation.

"Even funnier is that in wealthier cities like Bejing, estimates are that up to 60% of the youth populus is overweight. "
-- You're comparing apples and oranges. The hometown for these girls were NOT Beijing. And once inducted into the gymnastics regiment, they don't get to do what "every teenager" is doing.

You might find yourself better enlightened if you did travel a bit more and live how most natives live. Maybe when you travel to China, try not to stay at the Hilton or Four Seasons. Get yourself a translator and go down to the suburbs... you'll appreciate what the Chinese people have to endure while industrializing to world standards.

[pug_ster]

While I think that it is possible for the age of those Chinese gymnasts could've be faked, it is not unusual that Chinese women to look much younger than their age. I know a Chinese woman who was 24, weights 83 lbs, about 4'10" and is not anorexic. Many people would probably think that she is 16. Given how the diets of these Chinese gymnasts' diets are severely controlled, they probably don't puberatize later compared to American gymnasts.

[John]

Here is what I honestly think: the claims that all or most of them are under-16 is pure BS, and ABSOLUTELY IDIOTIC US networks now comparing them to American gymnasts are just that, IDIOTIC. It's a well-known fat that, in general - both because of heredity and food, US teenagers mature faster and also when they grow up are bigger than most other whites. Add to that that Asians are generally more minute than whites, and you get the picture (I try avoid being explicit here but you get the picture - Americans at that age have bigger [what Chuchill called "white meat"]). You can't measure everyone by the same yardstick in terms of physical features/age. I do agree that probably there is 1 14-year-old on the Chinese team, but it's their Olympics, and the advantage of one person being below the age isn't that huge, if they made 1 fake passport, so what? In all likelyhood they would still have gotten their gold medals.