Sizing up the top gymnastics teams

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For Olympic gymnasts, the minimum age is 16 by year’s end. Questions have been raised about the ages of several Chinese gymnasts and whether this gives them an unfair advantage.

The Chinese womens' Olympic gymnastics team: Li Shanshan, Yang Yilin, Cheng Fei, He Kexin, Jiang Yuyuan, Deng Linlin

The U.S. womens' Olympic gymnastics team: Chellsie Memmel, Nastia Liukin, Alicia Sacramone, Samantha Peszek, Bridget Sloan, Shawn Johnson

Comments

[Cindy]

Everyone knows what children look like. Deng Linh is nowhere near 16. Has anyone spoken to her? That should give you an idea about her age. A sixteen year old would be more mature.

[uhhh]

What's the point of this? All it shows is that the American gymnasts, both older and younger are at least 10-15 lbs heavier than their Chinese counterparts of the same or similar height. Are you going to say that Cheng Fei is lying about her age because she's 15 lbs lighter than Sam Peszek (both are 5'0)?

There's a 20 lb difference between Chellsie Memmel and Nastia Liukin who are the same height. Again, what's the point?

And to the above comment about speaking to the press, not all gymnasts are PR trained like the US gymnasts.
*smile, be positive, be perky, smile again*

[DS]

uuh, do the math the chinese women weigh an average 77 lbs. while the american women weigh an average of 107 lbs. A 30 lb. difference. Most 10 year olds weigh more than 80 lbs. And most girls are reaching their growth peak by the time they're 16. The only chinese girl that looks to be 16 is the supposed 20 year old Cheng Fei, who is 95 lbs. The first 3 chinese girls on this list can't possibly be more than 11 yrs. old. Come on, 4'6" and 68 lbs. and 16 yrs old. I bet this girls birth year starts with a 2 before i'd bet that she was around when Clinton won his first term in office.

[DD]

In Fact, Deng Linlin looks to be about the same age as the 9yr old girl who lipsynced the song during the opening ceremonies.

[uhhh]

Cheng Fei did an interview along with her coach explaining her "weight problems" and now she's reduced to eating just fruit and water for breakfast and dinner with her only real meal being a small lunch. What's considered an acceptable weight in the US does not fly in China.

While that may be true for the 10 year olds in the US, it doesn't apply to 10 year olds in other countries. If you saw the opening ceremony, you'd have seen that 9 year old earthquake survivor with Yao Ming looked like he should be in kindergarten here and nowhere near 70 lbs.

So, it's okay for US gymnasts to be shorter and look younger than most 16 year olds as long as they carry substantially more weight? It's funny how no one mentions any gymnasts from other countries when there are quite a few tiny girls out there.

I'm not denying that China may be using underage gymnasts but the basis for all this bashing is pretty biased and narrow minded.

[hoff]

So what should we gather from this blog and the above comments? Is Nastia underage and will soon gain 20 pounds? Or is Chellsie 20 pounds over what she should be?

[Dr. Wang]

So, Team USA win hands down in body weight, height, age, and the number of letters in their names.

[Keonjai]

Clearly Bela Karolyis is using his American standards to judge the Chinese girls. It's a shame to have a coach to have such a narrow mind. Many coaches love to talk trash and Karolyis just showed how naive Americans really are. You should checkout what these Chinese girls have been eating in their past 16-20 years. Americans are definitely having a lot more nutritions since they were born, and they take it for granted. They think everybody on this planet is having the same amount of food, when half the world is still living in poverty. Another thing is the Chinese bone structure is clearly smaller compare to the Americans. Are Karolyis comparing Apple to Oranges and then claim the Orange is not red enough?? Please give me a break! Why singling out the Chinese team and not complaining about the Russians or the Japanese teams. Those girls also look 14 to everyone! If your team cannot win, don't try to fault it on someone else! Martha Karolyis really wants the gold medals but she should put up a younger team. If age is a big concern to Bela, he should ask his wife to find someone who is 16 instead of 20 years old. These days Americans just love to whine about everything.

[mom of 5]

I am not commenting on the other girls, but Deng LinLin is not only the same size as my eight year old, when she smiles she shows a lost tooth in the same position as my 10 year old recently lost.

[EYS]

I don't understand why people think China using under aged girls seem so unbelievable. They have done it before. Clearly - document forging is not too good/honest for them. Other countries may be doing it too - but apparently their girls aren't so small that it creates suspicion.

Documents have apparently been found indicating that the girls may indeed be underage. I don't understand why the IOC will not investigate!! Laziness, politics or bribery are all valid reasons - some more than others. Mostly politics is my bet.

China has done this before. The gymnast in question and Chinese officials later confirmed it on state TV. They were not reprimanded for the incident. The medals were basically STOLEN from USA (ironically that year, USA got silver - I believe). Four months from now, it will happen again....

[greeneyes]

Hey there folks, speculating on the ages of athletes is pretty much a waste of time and proves actually nothing. As an impartial reader it seems to be that the issue is the inability of people to accept another countries success - just calling them cheaters. How would it make you feel if people we slagging off Phelps and saying he was talking drugs? I am sure he isnt by the way, the guy is a seriously impressive natural talent and a real inspiration to all. Lets all remember the value of sportsmanship people!

[MotherOfTwoGirls]

This isn't about the girls' weight, per se, it's about their DEVELOPMENT. Karolyi is right--there's no way some of these girls are 16...or anywhere close. You can tell by their bodies' structures; their legs, their musculature, their hips, even their teeth as another person mentioned. Anyone who has raised children should be able to spot the obvious immaturity in these girls' bodies. I also agree with Karolyi's statement that he/they are in the gymnastics business--they've been doing this for DECADES, and have seen gymnasts from all around the world. This is not simply a matter of Chinese girls being smaller/lighter than American girls; they're quite obviously under 16.