Read the entire thread tons of proof....... Now ask me if we here in the USA, really care? Nope, not one bit. But we know China is cheating. DD
Didn't I post the rule on that a few pages ago? If it is a year before the Olympic games, 15 year olds can compete in World events. 2007 is one year before the 2008 games. 2008-2007= 1 The Chinese team's website listed them as 14, there's no getting around that.
Did you actually read the articles posted? Personally, I don't really care too much...the gold medal is there for the taking for the US...the only thing that'll doom them is their own mistakes (like in qualifications). But refusing to believe the possibility that there could be foul play involved in light of the evidence is pretty naive.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/s...gewanted=2&_r=2 "Yang Yun of China won individual and team bronze medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and later said in an interview on state-run television that she had been 14 at the time of those Games. A Hunan Province sports administration report also said later that she had been 14 when she competed in Sydney." So when the competitors themselves come out and say, "Hey, I was 14 during the Olympics", is that proof enough? To me, that's pretty strong evidence that the Chinese have used underaged girls, and sets a precedent for them doing it again. Like most have said, nobody really cares. It's just the fierce denials from some posters that have been amusing.
What in the world does this have to do with America invading China? This really doesn't have anything to do with America at all. It's all about the host country, China, being caught violating the rules of the Olympics. There is a huge advantage to using younger athletes in gymnastics. You even posted that the commentators pointed it out. Are you somehow more of an expert than they are? All this being said, I don't think there should be an age limit. They're already training these girls at age 3 so we aren't protecting them from anything. In the end, though, rules are rules. Why is it alright for China to break the rules? Why are those of us who have a problem with them cheating all of a sudden labeled as jingoists who will support full invasion of Canada? Yeah, I have. I've also seen 15 year old Chinese girls and they look nothing like these girls.
Age does play a factor no matter what sport. It goes back to Personal Development and Relationship classes. The body isn't fully capable to of competing to it's fullest, giving the athlete a disadvantage, and there is a greater ratio of injury compared to older individuals, when the younger individuals compete and push their bodies to the extreme. Also it can limit their potential as well.
That is IT !!! Due to the clear violation of the Chinese Cheating Federation, we the Clutchfans of America are officially recognizing Taiwan as it's own country. Take that !!! DD
You just came over to insult the other nationality of people, didn't you? Your posts are always full of hate against the Chinese people. I can still remember your eggroll post which filled with racial hatred against the Chinese people not long ago. What's up with it? If you have to spread racial hate on the internet anonymously, I have to say you are a loser. Know what? It's weak to hide behind your monitor to attack the other people just because you hate them. Why don't you go over to tell that to one of them in his face, use your cell phone to record it along the process and post it here for us to watch? Are you too timid and weak to do that? As far as I can remember, you are also a minority. So how did you become a minority racist? Do you discriminate against your father and your mother too because they are also minorities? Do you discriminate against yourself? Do you wake up every day in the morning, look in the mirror and tell yourself that you suck because you are a minority? I am very curious to know.
WHOA! For a Olympics topic, I sure didn't foresee this volume of replies. Personally, I'm not sure what to make of this for a number of reasons. 1. Age stats for Chinese athletes seems to be oftentimes murky. Take Yi Jianling for example. I remember when the Bucks were scouting him, no one knew for sure how old/young he actually was. 22? 19? 24? 2. At least in Taiwan, when you are born your age is ONE, not zero (I think it's the same in the PRC.) So issues of being 16, when one is really 15, I wonder if there is confusion here too on the rules. What I hate seeing in the press, and this is entirely imho, is when the writers spin this issue into one of child exploitation against the child. Those kinds of moral judgements verge on the political, and for the Olympics, much like all the talk about social injustices and human rights issues, I think are best LEFT OUT of these couple of weeks of great competition and international goodwill. Is the child really being exploited at the expense of the child? I won't even dare to say. But cheating to win... this I take great exception to for the same reason why I feel those many many players who take steroids in the MLB ought to be ashamed for themselves. Rules of the game are meant to be there. Else, the game is an unfair one at best. If rules are so easily broken much less bent, then why would anyone in their right mind even try to participate? It corrupts the sport. It corrupts the game. And heck there's so many other games to participate in that even if the Olympic committee fails to investigate it, as a next generation Olympian, I would say "screw that", screw gymnastics, I'll go for swimming instead. I hope that this accusation against China is indeed NOT true as I give CHina the benefit of the doubt that they are more honorable than the press gives them credit for. If it IS true, then it's a failure for the Olympic committee to not be cracking down on this. From looks alone, honestly, I can't tell. Anyone who says they can identify a 16 year cut off age is being as foolish as saying that they can spot the lone gay athlete in this entire Olympics. Again, we don't know yet whether this is true or not. If cheating is indeed happenning, then the ills run higher still to those accomplices (Doctors, gov't people, etc.) who doctored the application forms to get these athletes in the events. My other question to all is, if indeed this IS true, does it warrant taking BACK any medals that otherwise were legitimately won? theSAGE
I'm Korean, albeit 1/2, and I'll admit... I still get carded for buying R-rated DVDs at Walmart. When asked how old I am, I say, "23." Then I get laughed at, and I'm asked to show ID. Pretty bad. However, at the age of 15-16, I did not look nearly as young as the girls on the Chinese gymnastics team. Obviously, the comparison is nothing close to actual proof, but only an observation. Those girls look young. Before hitting puberty, the changes are pretty obvious, but after that, okay, yeah, your body might not have changed much. Yes, Asians typically age well, but not THAT well. Not during those ages. And since the argument has been put forth not just in terms of Chinese girls, but "Asian" girls in general, please don't turn this into a Korean vs. Chinese thing.
Everyone on here saying "I'm 23 and still get carded" is forgetting that the age difference in your late teens and early twenties is much harder to tell than the age difference between 10-12-year-olds and 16-year-olds.
I think you misunderstood my post. The gist of what I was getting at was that there are Chinese posters who would support China or any agency/representative thereof right or wrong...Just like there are Americans who would do the same for any agency representing the US. I did say a rule is a rule and if they break it they should risk disqualification.
Where'd you pull that out from? Just like anything else regarding age and people's looks... it just depends. My wife, for example, didn't hit puberty until 15 (she'd hate me for saying... lol). I'm sure until then she didn't look much different than when she was 12. Some American girls start having their periods at 10.
