Girls Chinese Gymnastics Team Investigated?

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Chinese gymnastics team may be under age, and there could be protests regarding this? I really don’t understand this concept, and I understand it may just be me. So these Chinese gymnastic young ladies may only be 10, 12, 14 years old and they defeat our gymnastics team which is at least 16 years of age.

What? Good for them. If some 12 year old kids kick the butts of some one over the age of 16 in a competitive event… You go girl.

I mean this is like the opposite of the baseball kid that was a pitcher that was supposedly 12 when he was in fact 15 or 16.:confused:
 
At age 14 versus 16?:confused:

Where are you supposed to draw the line and how do we know they are 14? Actually, yes age 14 does make a difference vs age 16. Those are major growing years. Height is another factor. When Yao Ming was trying out for the gymnastics team, they said his double backflips were sloppy because of his size and it was hard for him to nail the landings. A 16 year old girl will weigh more than she did when she was 14. The Chinese use this advantage to offset the lead based paints in their outfits.
 
Where are you supposed to draw the line and how do we know they are 14? Actually, yes age 14 does make a difference vs age 16. Those are major growing years. Height is another factor. When Yao Ming was trying out for the gymnastics team, they said his double backflips were sloppy because of his size and it was hard for him to nail the landings. A 16 year old girl will weigh more than she did when she was 14. The Chinese use this advantage to offset the lead based paints in their outfits.

I don't know if they are 14 or what their ages may be. I was a gymnastist for a number of years...many years ago, and had several college scholorship offers. I also competed in the pre-lims for the Olympics. Guess that's just how things change over the years.:redface:
 
some of them look really young, and not just "we are chinese we have different body types than americans"

i wonder what the process from stripping them of the medals would work if they are indeed found to be under age, would the redistribute them? i hope they all end up being of age but come one, even being chinese do these girls look 16 ?
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Chinese gymnastics team may be under age, and there could be protests regarding this? I really don’t understand this concept, and I understand it may just be me. So these Chinese gymnastic young ladies may only be 10, 12, 14 years old and they defeat our gymnastics team which is at least 16 years of age.

What? Good for them. If some 12 year old kids kick the butts of some one over the age of 16 in a competitive event… You go girl.

I mean this is like the opposite of the baseball kid that was a pitcher that was supposedly 12 when he was in fact 15 or 16.:confused:

I see where you're coming from and agree to a certain extent. However, someone enters a sport/competition fully aware of the rules and regulations. And with them knowing that they [were] breaking the rules I think they should be punished or stripped of their medals.
 
We all know they cheated. You can't trust a Commie whether they are 10 yrs old or 100 yrs old.
 
We all know they cheated. You can't trust a Commie whether they are 10 yrs old or 100 yrs old.

:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:
 
I don't know if they are 14 or what their ages may be. I was a gymnastist for a number of years...many years ago, and had several college scholorship offers. I also competed in the pre-lims for the Olympics. Guess that's just how things change over the years.:redface:

So I'm guessing you bagged more than your fair share of gymnastics chicks? You lucky dog! :biggrin:
 
I think the dangling umbilical chords are a dead giveaway:wink:
 
I am going to enter my daughter in the drooling competition against 20 year olds. Gold is eminent.


BTW, what are they going to do cut them in half and count the rings?
 
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x-ray their bones, that's a fairly good way to tell age. i don't think that any of them are 16 except maybe the first one, and that's by a long shot!
 
The rules are the rules; if they are proven to have been in violation of the minimum age, strip them of their medals accordingly. I would also like to see sanctions against the Chinese for sponsoring them. Their responsibility is to make sure their competitors are legally able to compete.
 
Putting flexibility and everything else aside I think there may also be a different reason for the 16 year age requirement.

My girlfriend is a nurse and she said if those girls get trained way too hard at too young of an age they don't actually grow up properly; they don't get their periods, etc. (girlfriends words not mine). So I think the Olympic board decided in the protection of the girls and actually let them grow up a bit.
 
Putting flexibility and everything else aside I think there may also be a different reason for the 16 year age requirement.

My girlfriend is a nurse and she said if those girls get trained way too hard at too young of an age they don't actually grow up properly; they don't get their periods, etc. (girlfriends words not mine). So I think the Olympic board decided in the protection of the girls and actually let them grow up a bit.

Yep, it's essentially about protecting these kids. The amount of training and dedication necessary to compete at an Olympic level in that sport is beyond immense. Not healthy for a 10-12 year old girl.

If you watched the coverage all of the world's best trainers (who have seen an awful lot of young girls in their time) said there was no doubt these girls were underage and that it would be a distinctive advantage if that were the case.

And if anyone was going to try and pull off a caper like that it would be China. That government would do anything for good press. All bets are off when you're dealing with an oppressive regime that's suddenly in the spotlight.
 
So here is the biggggggest question, what would you guys say if they are over 16?

No one cared until they won. Winners of any major sporting events are often under scrutiny. Some where found guilty, some not.

If they are under 16, they should get stripped of their metal.

If they are over 16, what can people do to make things right for the unnecessary scrutiny?


This is a very good read.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,408541,00.html
 
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So here is the biggggggest question, what would you guys say if they are over 16?

No one cared until they won. Winners of any major sporting events are often under scrutiny. Some where found guilty, some not.

If they are under 16, they should get stripped of their metal.

If they are over 16, what can people do to make things right for the unnecessary scrutiny?


This is a very good read.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,408541,00.html

They can get the same thing everyone gets that is accused of a something they didn't do.......nothing.
 
They can get the same thing everyone gets that is accused of a something they didn't do.......nothing.

I agree 100%. Aside from that, if they violated the rules, strip them of their medals. How else do we send the message to all of those who aspire to compete that they must compete in accordance with the rules.
 
Good luck proving anything. The athlete training programs are run, ultimately, by the Chinese government. Any documentation used to support an allegation that the Chinese government was behind false representation of the athletes' ages would come from the Chinese government.

Can you even call a false document false if it's real? I mean, it's not forged, but it's not accurate, either.

Nick
 
Yep, it's essentially about protecting these kids. The amount of training and dedication necessary to compete at an Olympic level in that sport is beyond immense. Not healthy for a 10-12 year old girl.

Uh, no. The age restriction has nothing to do with protecting under-aged kids from the dangers or harms of competition. Not healthy for a 10-12 year old? These kids (i.e. all those gymnasts that competed in the olympics) started training at very young ages. Shawn Johnson started at the age of 6. Some of them started even earlier. Using an age restriction wouldn't prevent them from training and competing at a young age. They compete in other competitions before they compete at the Olympics. They do their routines thousands of times prior to the olympics.

And if anyone was going to try and pull off a caper like that it would be China. That government would do anything for good press. All bets are off when you're dealing with an oppressive regime that's suddenly in the spotlight.

haha.
 
BTW guys, there are almost 1 1/2 billion chinese in the world, you don't think there "might" be a possibility that they can actually find "six" 16 years old girls to meet the criteria? Look at the Japanese and Korean team, their girls are just as small and look just as young.

I'm telling you, those Kung Fu/Gymnast chicks starts young - Like Jedi knights in Training!!!:biggrin:
 
Uh, no. The age restriction has nothing to do with protecting under-aged kids from the dangers or harms of competition. Not healthy for a 10-12 year old? These kids (i.e. all those gymnasts that competed in the olympics) started training at very young ages. Shawn Johnson started at the age of 6. Some of them started even earlier. Using an age restriction wouldn't prevent them from training and competing at a young age. They compete in other competitions before they compete at the Olympics. They do their routines thousands of times prior to the olympics.

Why else would it be?

From the Physician & Sports Medicine, 1997:

Michel Leglise, a member of FIG's executive committee and chair of its medical commission in Paris, says that musculoskeletal problems were important considerations in the rule change. "The period when [gymnasts] are at the top [as competitors] is also the time when their growth is not finished, and the cartilage is not completely structured; it means a certain fragility for the articulations," he stated in a letter to The Physician and Sportsmedicine. "We know that one more year for the maturation of the skeleton is appreciable."

Current FIG prez:

The president of FIG Bruno Grandi revealed the thought of adopting new age regulation after Beijing Games on Monday at the sideline of the ongoing gymnastics Olympic test event, the "Good Luck Beijing" Gymnastics International Invitational.

"Sports like gymnastics should not be there for kids," said Grandi. "Gymnasts should only be allowed to compete in international stage when they are mature physically and mentally."
 
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