Why do you think IOC is not taking any necessary steps to settle the issue regarding the suspect under-age Chinese Gymnast? They are time and again saying that they have verified the age mentioned in their passport. But in this case the accuracy of passport itself has been questioned. So, why don't IOC try to settle the issue using scientific age verification methods and settle the issue once and for all?? I remember not very long ago ICC stripping Nepal's place in Final  from under 17 International Cricket held in Nepal after it found 13 of its 15 players over the age of 17 in the tooth age verification technique they used. If stupid body such as ICC can do such tests and punish a country for its wrong doing...why a strong body such as IOC hesitant in taking such steps to ensure justice to other players and the rule.

 

Hari_Dai and no_quiero....there are written rules for the sporting events and that should be followed by all to maintain the discipline. I know, we Nepali tends to use our Gorkhali buddi and believe that rules are just for the sake of it and can be broken by anyone at any time as per their convenience. You may even want to legalize doping in sports and argue that whats wrong in that...just allow all players to use drugs as per their wish and see who wins it. Since everyone are allowed to take drugs it is Ok and equal. But, current rules does't permit that...and current rules regarding age restriction says that any players under the age of 16 by the end of olympic years are not allowed to participate in the Olympic events and I believe IOC should implement this rule to maintain their own dignity and justice to other players. It is not just about giving unfair advantage to one team compared to others but about equlity of rules for all.

I do have doubts about her age but what can you do ?
I read an article that IOC have requested an investigating on this. But what can they prove ?
She has 2 (even older one) passports, government issues id and birth certificate with same date showing her 16.
I don't think they will allow dental test so clouds will still remain. But she might well be right too ..afterall these Chinese are really small. We have one such at work who really looks like a school kid.
Its just genetic thing. Can't compare with American Girls at all.

vince wrote....."I don't think they will allow dental test so clouds will still remain. But she might well be right too ..afterall these Chinese are really small. We have one such at work who really looks like a school kid."
My question is...who will not allow it and why....if the passports are correct what is there to hide....

It seems IOC is listening...but I believe it should do more and come up with a conclusive scientific evidence to confirm their age and settle the issue.

Page last updated at 13:42 GMT, Friday, 22 August 2008 14:42 UK E-mail this to a friend Printable version Olympic probe into gymnasts' ages Cannot play media. Sorry, this media is not available in your territory. Video - China women win team gymnastics By Michael Bristow BBC News, Beijing The International Olympic Committee has instigated an investigation into the ages of several Chinese gold-medal-winning gymnasts. China is being asked to hand over extra documents to confirm that five gymnasts were old enough to compete. The BBC has seen one document on the internet that suggests gold medal winner He Kexin is only 14 years old, not 16 as the rules require. Chinese officials have strenuously denied the allegations. If true, they would tarnish the home nation's image. Recurring issue For several months, there have been rumours about the ages of a number of Chinese gymnasts. The International Gymnastics Federation confirmed it was looking into the cases of Miss He, Yang Yilin, Jiang Yuyuan, Li Shanshan and Deng Linlin. He Kexin won two Olympic gold medals All five were awarded gold medals at this Olympics, as part of the Chinese female squad that won the women's team event. The BBC has seen an internet document apparently from the website of China's General Administration of Sport, dated last year. It lists China's gymnasts and records He Kexin's birthday as 1 January, 1994 - that would mean she is only 14. But on the Beijing games official website, Miss He's birthday is given as 1 January, 1992, which would mean she is 16. The age issue has already been investigated twice by the IOC, in the spring of this year and just before the games began. But on Friday, IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said: "We have asked the gymnastics federation to look into what have been quite a number of questions and apparent discrepancies on this case." Ms Davies said she was confident that the gymnasts did meet Olympic age requirements. China was even more confident. Wang Wei, executive vice-president of the Beijing organising committee, said an investigation had already been held into the matter. "If they had not been cleared, they would not have participated in the games," he said at a press conference. 'Indignant' Lu Shanzhen, chief coach of China's women's gymnastics team, told the BBC that "relevant documents" belonging to He had been given to the IOC and the International Gymnastics Federation yesterday. The items, including an old passport, a residency card and her current identity card, were issued by various departments of the Chinese government. "It's only because there is a rivalry between the Chinese and American women's gymnastics teams that these questions have arisen," Mr Lu said. The United States came second to China in the women's team event. Mr Lu also told reporters that the parents of the gymnasts were "indignant" over persistent questions about their daughters' ages. "They have faced groundless suspicion. Why aren't they believed? Why are their children suspected? Their parents are very angry," he said. "It is in the interests of all concerned, not least the athletes themselves, to resolve this issue once and for all," said the International Gymnastics Federation later in a statement. The age rule was introduced in 1997 to protect the health of young gymnasts.

Courtesy: www.bbc.co.uk

i think asians tend to look younger because they don't drink milk with growth hormones in it or eat other genetically modified food. haven't you noticed that most americans look much older than their actual age? i can still pass as a high school student despite being in grad school. Maybe they should stop using too much growth hormones for their cattles.. just my opinion. besides, even if these chinese kids are 15 instead of 16, I am still amazed by their skills..

Ok ,This is not the real problem ,the problem is that Anti chinese ppl wants to find loopholes and disfigure china.I am above 25 but my landlord was asking are u 15 , I can imagine how they think and guess looking at our face , height etc .This problem is also related to their illusion and nomatter she is 16 or 32 she is talented , she has shown I have nothing left to criticize her or china I can only praise and appreciate it, Great china , great chinese, go to hell anti chinese, you are following indian Ideology to find faults and guilts of other rather than strengths, Gre

The reason they don't allow kids below 16 in gymnastics is that, the younger kids have a higher tendency of getting injured as compared to the older ones. Plus, the younger ones have more flexibility, hence the better performance. You don't see a 30 year old gymnast very often and there is a reason for that.
The rules are there for a reason and everybody should follow them. I believe she is 16 when her government says she is. But if she is not, and it is proved, it will be a disgrace for China.
Personally, I don't care if they played a fetus. If the fetus wins, hey, that is amazing. If it loses, no harm done, its just a fetus. If it dies or injures itself, AWESOME. Kids deserve that.

the reason why young gymnasts are good is b/c their bodies arent as beat up as a 16 yr old or a 20 yr old. gymnastic is a very demanding sport. many gymnast have broken bones. torn muscles tendons. my fren even had her back dislocated. thats why its not fair for a 14 yr old whose body isnt as beat up to compete with a 20 yr old. us could have taken ppl frm their junior championship and won.

 

I would suggest do some research on why young gymnasts do better than the older ones. Then come here and say they were better. If us gymnasts were 13 yrs old they would do much better too.

deshbhakta i think they r looking into it

no quiero is really an idiot i am convinced now. thank you

no_quiero and Hari Dai,

In gymnastics, it is better to be younger since young, flexible and nimble body is good. That is why you hardly see anyone above 24-25 years in gymnastics. Sending younger player in gymnastics is same as sending over age players in under 17 cricket or soccer.

no_quiero and Hari Dai,

In gymnastics, it is better to be younger since young, flexible and nimble body is good. That is why you hardly see anyone above 24-25 years in gymnastics. Sending younger player in gymnastics is same as sending over age players in under 17 cricket or soccer.h

Well pats, I agree in gymnast it is better to be younger.  But how much younger?  I don't think being 14 years is an advantage. You should be at least be old enough to grip the bars. when you jump around it must be hard on the shoulders.

And secondly everybody is talking as if she is 14 years old. She may well be 16.

And trilochana, I don't know why you are obsessed with me. I am not talking to you then why do you have to bring my name.

Ok, I don't say you r wrong when  u say  younger have better flexibility so better chance of winning .I agree absolutely right!!! I also agree everyone has to follow the rules of game.But If so then if country officially says she is 16 how can u suspect to be less just by looking at the face? Hum!!Ok if not 16 she is 15 why not other countries tried to put all  gymnast of  lower age in gymnastic?Definitely there was a girl of 34 from one  country probably czekoslovakia ,I am not sure about the country!! and others higher than 20 why not all other countries have all gymnast of exactly 16.12 yr old american or europeon looks like 30 yr old chinese whynot they include those players?It is not becoz they are 100% pure  but they cannot do as good as u say ,If does every country will never forbid any child from winning gold medal.The Question here is of suspect and politics not of ethics and truth .

No Quiero,

Are you an expert to say if being 14 is advantage or not? By your logic, it is OK to field 16 year players in under 15 cricket or soccer. Does 2 years make such a difference ??

Hari Dai,

China says those gymnasts are 16. However, they are doubts from various sources and not just from looking at their face. Chinese Govt. news agency reported one of the gymnasts as 14 years in Nov '07. Associated Press also found registration documents for earlier tournaments that registered these gymnasts with different birthdates. For example, one news reported "...He was born Jan. 1, 1994, according to the 2005, 2006 and 2007 registration lists. Yang was born Aug. 26, 1993, according to the 2004, 2005 and 2006 registration lists. In the 2007 registration list, however, her birthday has changed to Aug. 26, 1992..."

Finally, it is about ethics. Just like using drugs in track n' field is wrong, fielding under-age atheletes in gymnastics is also wrong. There are other atheletes who worked so hard for 4 years but lost gold because some country got unfair advantage by fielding underage gymnasts.

Acording to law of physics, the shorter an object is, the more is stability because the centre of mass can be easily balanced. Therefore, a shorter  person will be more stable compared to the taller during the performance in gymnastics .

Usually, a younger person is shorter than the older. Therefore it is advantageous in gymnastics if a team can use younger kids unlike other sports where older will perform better. The issue of underage girls arises due to this reason not only because of  age limt.

umn, simion physics law of center of gravity is okey but all short ppl are not underaged.

According to law of Biology (actually there is no such law but just common sense), the younger the person less stable they are.  If they are more stable why don't you put toddler in the gymnastic.

Secondly , i believe, the hand, leg everything should be strong enough to hold the bar, grip it. Age 14 is not the one where gymnast gets an undue advantage.

Whatever, may be the age that should never be the criteria for allowing or disallowing any players. Its like saying tall guys are not allowed in Basketball because it gives them the advantage. If IOC is concerned about the injury that may be different reason.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2008/08/23/church.argentina.dog.cnn

here you go

Clearly, these baseless accusations are nothing more than malicious lies propagated by the terrorist Dalai Clique, poisioned American children's and pets' class-action lawyer thugs, and tiger penis preservation extremists.  Oh, yeah, and also the disgruntled parents of the too-ugly-to-show-during-the-Open-Ceremony child singer of the PRC national anthem.  In other face-saving related news, Chinese Olympic officials are filing a protest with the IOC, asking them to strip American women's beach volleyball gold medalists Misty May-Treanor and Kerry Walsh of their medals.  They claim that Walsh intentionally spiked the ball directly into the face of her Chinese opponent in a malicious and deliberate attempt to make her opponent lose face.  Developing...

Breaking: IOC officials have cleared China's girl's gymnastics team of any wrongdoing, ruling that it is perfectly legal for China to field a team entirely made up of eight-week-olds, eight-month-olds, and eight-year-olds because, if the world has learned anything from these Beijing games, it is that eight is a very auspicious and important number in Chinese culture.  They added, however, that Most Evilest Olympian Evah Michael Phelps winning eight gold medals is a hollow USA victory and merely two zeroes linked together.