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Alu862
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Do you think the Gymnasts are underaged?
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China can win lots of gold medals legally. There's no need to cheat on this one. Even if there's any cheating, it's mostly likely to be by parents in conspiracy with some officials. Frankly, even taking oriental physique and features into consideration, she does look more like 14 than 16 to me.
Bascially to me, these are jealousy remarks from the western media for example notorious CNN.
(1) First they distort Tibet riot by using false pictures, refusing to apologise to China govt.
(2) Then comment Beijing Opening ceremony using pre-prepared slides & images,
(3) Then mention about the lips sync singing by the child at opening ceremony,
(4) And then the misrepresentation of the 56 ethnics group at opening ceremony,
(5) & finally the underaged gymnastic team after winning gold.
Cannot stand CNN channel. Very anti-China & anti-Asia news channel. Even their reporters also behave like racists. Simply losers!!!!
I don't think China is so stupid to field underage gymnasts. They are the host nation for god sake. Some more they know there are countries waiting for opportunity to shoot them down. And Asian always seem younger mah. Those westerner teen look like in their twenties or thirties. Like bro had mention, sour grape. Jealous of asian youthfulness. 
http://www.smh.com.au/news/off-the-...f-he-kexins-age/2008/08/23/1219262576251.html
Computer security consultant Mike Walker found cached data showing Chinese gymnast He Kexin was 14, not 16.
How hacker found proof of He Kexin's age
Stephen Hutcheon | August 23, 2008 - 7:03AM
In his spare time Mike Walker likes to find things on web servers that were never meant to be found.
On Monday, after curiosity got the better of him, the 33-year-old computer security consultant toiled for hours without success, as he tried to dig up more information about the allegedly under-aged Chinese gymnast He Kexin.
On Tuesday, after redefining the parameters of his Google Hack, he hit the jackpot. Bingo! The mother lode.
On Google's cache he found evidence of a record of He Kexin's birth on a spreadsheet belonging to the General Administration of Sport of China - the country peak sports body.
But the data had been removed.
On the Chinese search engine Baidu, he went one better. He found two caches of Excel spreadsheet which had been published on the web and both of them showed He Kexin's birthday as January 1, 1994.
The cache is the snapshot of web pages crawled by a search engine spiders which map the web and database their findings.
The following day on Google's Chinese search engine, google.com.cn, he found yet more cached spreadsheets from the General Administration of Sport of China also showing the birth date as January 1, 1994.
This would make the tiny gymnast - who won two gold medals at the Olympics - 14 years old. Her Olympic credentials list her birth date as January 1, 1992, which would make her 16.
Regulations that were introduced in 1997 by the world gymnastics federation require gymnasts to turn 16 in the year of the Games to be eligible to compete.
"I spent a large amount (of time) failing (to find anything) and a small amount succeeding," Walker, who works for the Washington DC-based Intrepidus Group.
"It takes a little bit of faith to believe that you can find something out there and sometimes it pays off.
"I put it on Blogger (a free Google blog service) and went out to dinner and the world came calling."
As a direct result of Walker's findings and the resulting press coverage that it sparked, the International Olympic Committee yesterday announced that it had called for a review of the age falsification allegations surrounding China's dual gold medal gymnast.
"We have asked the gymnastics federation to look into what have been a number of questions and apparent discrepancies on this case. And they've been working with the [Chinese] national federation ... to have a full clarification on this topic," IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies told a news conference yesterday.
Late last night, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) issued a statement saying that it had widened it inquiry into the age falsification claims.
The federation said it had asked the Chinese Gymnastic Association to submit further documents testifying to the birth dates of He Kexin and four fellow gymnasts - Jiang Yuyuan, Li Shanshan, Deng Linlin and Yang Yilin.
"On receipt of these documents, the FIG will forward its conclusions to the International Olympic Committee. It is in the interests of all concerned, not least the athletes themselves, to resolve this issue once and for all," the statement said.
Walker is still surprised by the reaction to his findings. "It's become the centre of a maelstrom and international media attention," he said.
"I never set out to change the course of the Olympics; I set out as I always do, a curious researcher, intent on the search for truth and the knowledge I could acquire along the way," he said in a blog post.
Report: IOC to investigate age of Chinese gymnast
By NANCY ARMOUR Associated Press
BEIJING — With the parents growing indignant and the Beijing Games winding down, the International Olympic Committee wants to "put to rest" persistent questions about the age of China's gold medal women's gymnastics team.
The IOC said today there is still no proof anyone cheated, though it asked the International Gymnastics Federation to investigate "what have been a number of questions and apparent discrepancies," spokeswoman Giselle Davies said. However, all the information the Chinese gymnastics federation presented supports its insistence that its athletes were old enough to compete.
"We believe the matter will be put to rest and there's no question ... on the eligibility," Davies said. "The information we have received seems satisfactory in terms of the correct documentation — including birth certificates."
If the federation had found evidence that the gymnasts were underage, it could have affected four of China's medals. In addition to the team gold and He Kexin's gold on uneven bars, Yang Yilin won bronze medals in the all-around and bars.
With the games wrapping up Sunday, the IOC wants to quickly end any lingering doubts about underage competitors.
No one would be happier to finally have closure on the controversy than the gymnasts' parents.
China coach Lu Shanzan said the parents are "indignant" over persistent questions about their daughters' ages.
"It's not just me. The parents of our athletes are all very indignant," Lu said. "They have faced groundless suspicion. Why aren't they believed? Why are their children suspected? Their parents are very angry."
In an interview with The Associated Press, Lu said Asian gymnasts are naturally smaller than their American and European rivals.
"At this competition, the Japanese gymnasts were just as small as the Chinese," he said. "Chinese competitors have for years all been small. It is not just this time. It is a question of race. European and American athletes are all powerful, very robust. But Chinese athletes cannot be like that. They are by nature that small."
He said the governing body of gymnastics was given additional documents Thursday night to try to dispel lingering questions. Those documents included He's current and former passport, ID card and family residence permit. Lu said the documents all say she was born in 1992, which would have made her eligible to compete. Gymnasts must turn 16 during the Olympic year to be eligible.
"Surely it's not possible that these documents are still not sufficient proof of her birthdate?" Lu asked. "The passports were issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. The identity card was issued by China's Ministry of Public Security. If these valid documents are not enough to clarify this problem, then what will you believe?
"The Chinese government and the Chinese athletes must be respected," he added.
The coach dismissed Chinese media reports and online records that suggested that He, Yang and a third team member, Jiang Yuyuan, might be as young as 14.
"If you trust every Web site but not a government...," he said. "There are so many Web sites, so much hearsay. These are not official. It is possible that all news on the Internet is accurate?"
The federation has said repeatedly that a passport is the "accepted proof of a gymnast's eligibility," and that China's gymnasts have presented ones that show they are age eligible. The IOC also checked the girls' passports and deemed them valid before the games began.
Andre Gueisbuhler, secretary general of the FIG, said the federation would release a statement later today.
"For the time being, there is nothing I can add," Gueisbuhler said.
The IOC did not give details on what new information prompted it to act now, three days after the gymnastics competition ended.
"With some questions still remaining, we asked the federation to take a closer look," Davies said.
The U.S. Olympic Committee said it sent a letter to the IOC and the FIG today, asking that the matter be resolved.
"We certainly believe that it's important for the IOC and the international federation to review the issue and hopefully lay it to rest because the questions surrounding the age of some of the athletes have been out there for quite a while and it's unfair to them and unfair to the other athletes to continue to linger," USOC chief executive Jim Scherr said.
"So we have sent a letter to the IOC and to the international federation asking them to review the matter and see if they can't resolve it for the good of the competition, the integrity of the competition and the good of all the athletes."
The Chinese women won six medals, including the team gold and He's gold on uneven bars. Media reports include a Nov. 3 story by the Chinese government's news agency, Xinhua, that suggest He is only 14. Asked again earlier this week about her age after winning the uneven bars title, beating American Nastia Liukin in a tiebreak, she said:
"I was born in 1992, and I'm 16 years old now," He said. "The FIG has proved that. If I'm under 16, I couldn't have been competing here."
Earlier this month, the AP found registration lists previously posted on the Web site of the General Administration of Sport of China that showed both He and Yang were too young to compete. 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.
"We played fair at this Olympic Games," Liukin's father and coach, Valeri, said after they arrived back in the United States. "... If somebody cheated, shame on them."
Added Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics: "USA Gymnastics has always believed this issue needed to be addressed by the FIG and IOC. An investigation would help bring closure to the issue and remove any cloud of speculation from this competition."
Age falsification has been a problem in gymnastics since the 1980s after the minimum age was raised from 14 to 15 to protect young athletes from serious injuries. The minimum age was raised to its current 16 in 1997. Younger gymnasts are considered to have an advantage because they are more flexible and are likely to have an easier time doing the tough skills the sport requires. They also aren't as likely to have a history of injuries or fear of failure.
North Korea was barred from the 1993 world championships after FIG officials discovered Kim Gwang Suk, the gold medalist on uneven bars in 1991, was listed as 15 for three years in a row. Romania admitted in 2002 that several gymnasts' ages had been falsified, including Olympic medalists Gina Gogean and Alexandra Marinescu.
Even China's own Yang Yun, a double bronze medalist in Sydney, said during an interview aired on state broadcaster China Central Television that she was 14 during the 2000 Games.
By NANCY ARMOUR Associated Press
BEIJING — With the parents growing indignant and the Beijing Games winding down, the International Olympic Committee wants to "put to rest" persistent questions about the age of China's gold medal women's gymnastics team.
The IOC said today there is still no proof anyone cheated, though it asked the International Gymnastics Federation to investigate "what have been a number of questions and apparent discrepancies," spokeswoman Giselle Davies said. However, all the information the Chinese gymnastics federation presented supports its insistence that its athletes were old enough to compete.
"We believe the matter will be put to rest and there's no question ... on the eligibility," Davies said. "The information we have received seems satisfactory in terms of the correct documentation — including birth certificates."
If the federation had found evidence that the gymnasts were underage, it could have affected four of China's medals. In addition to the team gold and He Kexin's gold on uneven bars, Yang Yilin won bronze medals in the all-around and bars.
With the games wrapping up Sunday, the IOC wants to quickly end any lingering doubts about underage competitors.
No one would be happier to finally have closure on the controversy than the gymnasts' parents.
China coach Lu Shanzan said the parents are "indignant" over persistent questions about their daughters' ages.
"It's not just me. The parents of our athletes are all very indignant," Lu said. "They have faced groundless suspicion. Why aren't they believed? Why are their children suspected? Their parents are very angry."
In an interview with The Associated Press, Lu said Asian gymnasts are naturally smaller than their American and European rivals.
"At this competition, the Japanese gymnasts were just as small as the Chinese," he said. "Chinese competitors have for years all been small. It is not just this time. It is a question of race. European and American athletes are all powerful, very robust. But Chinese athletes cannot be like that. They are by nature that small."
He said the governing body of gymnastics was given additional documents Thursday night to try to dispel lingering questions. Those documents included He's current and former passport, ID card and family residence permit. Lu said the documents all say she was born in 1992, which would have made her eligible to compete. Gymnasts must turn 16 during the Olympic year to be eligible.
"Surely it's not possible that these documents are still not sufficient proof of her birthdate?" Lu asked. "The passports were issued by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. The identity card was issued by China's Ministry of Public Security. If these valid documents are not enough to clarify this problem, then what will you believe?
"The Chinese government and the Chinese athletes must be respected," he added.
The coach dismissed Chinese media reports and online records that suggested that He, Yang and a third team member, Jiang Yuyuan, might be as young as 14.
"If you trust every Web site but not a government...," he said. "There are so many Web sites, so much hearsay. These are not official. It is possible that all news on the Internet is accurate?"
The federation has said repeatedly that a passport is the "accepted proof of a gymnast's eligibility," and that China's gymnasts have presented ones that show they are age eligible. The IOC also checked the girls' passports and deemed them valid before the games began.
Andre Gueisbuhler, secretary general of the FIG, said the federation would release a statement later today.
"For the time being, there is nothing I can add," Gueisbuhler said.
The IOC did not give details on what new information prompted it to act now, three days after the gymnastics competition ended.
"With some questions still remaining, we asked the federation to take a closer look," Davies said.
The U.S. Olympic Committee said it sent a letter to the IOC and the FIG today, asking that the matter be resolved.
"We certainly believe that it's important for the IOC and the international federation to review the issue and hopefully lay it to rest because the questions surrounding the age of some of the athletes have been out there for quite a while and it's unfair to them and unfair to the other athletes to continue to linger," USOC chief executive Jim Scherr said.
"So we have sent a letter to the IOC and to the international federation asking them to review the matter and see if they can't resolve it for the good of the competition, the integrity of the competition and the good of all the athletes."
The Chinese women won six medals, including the team gold and He's gold on uneven bars. Media reports include a Nov. 3 story by the Chinese government's news agency, Xinhua, that suggest He is only 14. Asked again earlier this week about her age after winning the uneven bars title, beating American Nastia Liukin in a tiebreak, she said:
"I was born in 1992, and I'm 16 years old now," He said. "The FIG has proved that. If I'm under 16, I couldn't have been competing here."
Earlier this month, the AP found registration lists previously posted on the Web site of the General Administration of Sport of China that showed both He and Yang were too young to compete. 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.
"We played fair at this Olympic Games," Liukin's father and coach, Valeri, said after they arrived back in the United States. "... If somebody cheated, shame on them."
Added Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics: "USA Gymnastics has always believed this issue needed to be addressed by the FIG and IOC. An investigation would help bring closure to the issue and remove any cloud of speculation from this competition."
Age falsification has been a problem in gymnastics since the 1980s after the minimum age was raised from 14 to 15 to protect young athletes from serious injuries. The minimum age was raised to its current 16 in 1997. Younger gymnasts are considered to have an advantage because they are more flexible and are likely to have an easier time doing the tough skills the sport requires. They also aren't as likely to have a history of injuries or fear of failure.
North Korea was barred from the 1993 world championships after FIG officials discovered Kim Gwang Suk, the gold medalist on uneven bars in 1991, was listed as 15 for three years in a row. Romania admitted in 2002 that several gymnasts' ages had been falsified, including Olympic medalists Gina Gogean and Alexandra Marinescu.
Even China's own Yang Yun, a double bronze medalist in Sydney, said during an interview aired on state broadcaster China Central Television that she was 14 during the 2000 Games.
Why need to argue about age limit? Just lift the age limit rules and let the best of the best compete each others that the spirit of Olympic. I don't mind if someone age 3 can beat 20 year old. In Olympic there should not have age limit even if 3 year old or 80 year old, everyone much have equal chance to compete.
I agree. Gymnastics don't even have undesirable growing-up side effects like weightlifting that causes that child to be stunted in height but excessively bulky in body mass. I don't see any wrong with young gymnasts. It can't be compared to child labour or child abuse. If fact, it gives the child a headstart in physical as well as aesthetic development on top of a sporting discipline. I'm beginning to suspect that the age limit imposed is for the purpose of favoring causcasians who tend to get too old before their time.
There is a reason why the age limit was issued. The Chinese interestingly did not object because the Eastern Europeans / Russia had a grooming program that began at age 2. In fact the Chinese and the Americans were pushing for this on a moralising platform.
The brickbats began in the US where Russians were migrating with seasoned "tots".
It became increasing ridiculous when age started to go down for competition. The kids ended up being the infamous russsian and chinese bears, in this case teddy bears.
The key point is that there is an age rule, why cheat? The issue is cheating. Take on the other 14 years from around the world if you are really that good.
After getting caught in 2000 in Perth with a flask full of growth hormones, I thought this guys will either get smarter or stop this bullshit altogether. This was their stage, their platform, their time and it looks like they screwwing themselves on the world stage.
Of course, the simpletons will come out with excuses of china bashing, etc
Asian always look younger than their ages, not like ang moh 16 years old look like old hag.
The American are the biggest cheater.
Marion Lois Jones, also known as Marion Jones-Thompson (born October 12, 1975 in Los Angeles, California), is a former world champion American track and field athlete of Belizean descent. She won five medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia but has since been stripped of every Olympic medal dating back to September 2000 after admitting that she took performance-enhancing drugs
Sigh....all these questioning... 
Just 1 simple question for every1 out there :
If the China Women's team had not won the team gold, but instead it was the US team that won, do you reckon we would be discussing this issue now? Or for that matter, if the US gals won all the individual events, would this still be an issue? 'Nuff said...:p
Just 1 simple question for every1 out there :
If the China Women's team had not won the team gold, but instead it was the US team that won, do you reckon we would be discussing this issue now?
Or for that matter, if the US gals won all the individual events, would this still be an issue? 'Nuff said...:p
Sigh....all these questioning...
Just 1 simple question for every1 out there :
If the China Women's team had not won the team gold, but instead it was the US team that won, do you reckon we would be discussing this issue now?
Damned Cheating Chinese would sell their grandmothers if necessary.
S
Scolari
Guest
Damned Cheating Chinese would sell their grandmothers if necessary.
This is a good one, boss. Very funny.
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