Beijing Olympics 2008: Who believes China's gynastics team is all over 16 y.o.?

[Nox]

I don't believe that for a second. Some of those girls still have their baby teeth (and some are still losing them). Forensics experts on various tv shows have come out and waved a red flag, as well as pediatricians.

Who else things there's shenanigans going on China's "womens" gymnastic team?

I'm not saying they should be stripped of their medals (because those girls definitely brought the business!) but some of them looked so young to me, like 10, 11, or 12. Especially the little one with the heavy blue makeup.

 

[mac*lover]

omg! it is not just me, i thought of that also i was watching them yesterday and the whole time i was telling my husband i can not believe theses girls are 16, they do look 10 to 13 .

 

[Shaquille]

most Asian girls look underage. The girl that mimes the song at the opening ceremony looks like a 6 year old to me. And she's actually 9.

Plus, these ladies are small, because gymnastics messes up their growth..

 

[crystalado]

I totally agree! Maybe they are all 16 plus, but they sure don't look like it! and you are right, the one with the blue eyeshadow...she looks like she is like 10 or so...

 

[Nox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shaquille most Asian girls look underage. The girl that mimes the song at the opening ceremony looks like a 6 year old to me. And she's actually 9. Plus, these ladies are small, because gymnastics messes up their growth..

Yes, that is true they are not known for their height. But... why then do the Japanese and Korean team members tower over them in height and maturity? A height of 4'11" and 68 pounds is not run of the mill for any 16 year old Chinese girl, not even a gymnast. I am not stupid enough to buy that one. And the fact one of them appeared to still have baby teeth in her mouth made me pause a bit (and a missing tooth... what 16 y.o. still has tooth fairy visits???) it really is quite interesting to say the least. But whatever the case, they are still good athletes regardless and they earned that gold.

I am not criticizing the girls at all, I don't even think they had much say in the matter if the allegations are indeed true. But if it is true, then some of their passports had been falsified to appear that they turned 16 in 2008.

 

[Beauty Mark]

I can't say.

I'm 23. I could probably pass for 15 if I dressed and acted differently. I'm a 4'10 Korean girl who probably weighs 95-98 lbs. Maybe if I were of a gymnastics regime, I'd be lighter. I can name at least 2 other Asians who are shorter than I (one is Korean, one is Japanese), and I don't hang out with an Asian crowd. It's not so uncommon. I am not sure, but I think shortness may be an asset in gymnastics.

One of my friends in college had super tiny teeth. She claimed that her dentist said that they were essentially baby teeth. If they're still losing them, well- that's odd, but as another posted wrote, gymnastics AFAIK messes with your growth. I'm not sure if it hinders your teeth development but it may.

 

[purrtykitty]

I was thinking more like 8 years old, especially because of the teeth - adult teeth are not that little (although, I could see a missing tooth here or there...I'm missing a tooth due to genetics, I was just born without it). But, seriously, there's no way they're all 16.

 

[sharkbytes]

I did hear on the news that there is definitely suspicion regarding three of those girls on the Chinese team. IF it is true that they are underage, (this is probably an unpopular opinion), then I do think that is very unfair. The rules are there for a reason, and I'm sure there are other countries who had amazing gymnasts who just missed the age-cutoff.

I do agree, they worked super hard and did an amazing job. But anyway, I doubt there's a way to prove anything since they got past the Olympic committee. It could very well just be suspicion and nothing more.

 

[rbella]

Well, sheesh, Bela Karolyi basically came out and said there was no way they were 16 and that the government falsified the documents. I think that Bob Costas almost died on national tv when he said it.

 

[Nox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbella Well, sheesh, Bela Karolyi basically came out and said there was no way they were 16 and that the government falsified the documents. I think that Bob Costas almost died on national tv when he said it.

I know! I saw that. Bela has got some balls on him. He basically said he didn't believe the scoring was fair either.

 

[Shaquille]

Nox hmm I think that the Chinese girls started very early with their gymnastics, earlier than the Korean and Japanese girls. Which gave the Korean and Japanese some time to grow taller..

lol, just my stupid 2 cents

 

[xxManBeaterxx]

i dont know about you girls but i've been to china before, and yes they look young. When i went to china.. I thought a 21 year old was 13 years old and majority of them look like that, very skinny, flat chested, crooked teeth... I'm 22 and i look like im 15, im half chinese. I wouldnt doubt that the chinese government did a little tweaking if you know what i mean.. my dad was born in china and his birth certificate stated he was a female and his mom was 9 years old when she gave birth.. when his sister was 11 when he was born...

 

[redambition]

i have a hard time believing that most olympic gymnasts are over 16! they all look so young.

 

[seonmi]

I don't doubt they are 16 or over. When I don't wear makeup, a lot of people think I'm 12 or under.
I went to a buffet here in the US when I was 17, and they asked if I needed a children ticket (for 12 years and under). One time in Belgium, the person selling train ticket insisted my friend to get a children ticket for me (I am 20). When I went to Mexico last year, I kept getting IDed even when going with a huge group of friends and the drinking age there is 16.
My point is it's no surprise that they are 16 or older.

 

[*Stargazer*]

It isn't just that they LOOK young. There is evidence that up until a couple of months ago, there WERE young. Then they magically aged to be old enough to compete.

 

[fafinette21]

I don't buy it. If younger gymnasts had the skill that was wanted to compete in the Olympics, would we all find it hard to believe that China forged some documents to get them in? I wouldn't.

It doesn't matter if the US team made mistakes, and that China did exceptionally well to clinch the gold, if their teammates are underage they shouldn't have medals. Rules are there for a reason, to be followed, and you should face the consequences if you don't follow them.

 

[Nox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by *Stargazer* It isn't just that they LOOK young. There is evidence that up until a couple of months ago, there WERE young. Then they magically aged to be old enough to compete.

Spot on. I understand what some folks are saying about the looks of these young ladies on the team, but simply "looking young" isn't my point. I'm going by the forensics here, and the deliberate lack of additional information being offered by the officials for verification of their ages. All the other teams had to have two forms of self-identification for the visa application process. The girls on the Chinese team had only passports to show for it at the start of the games, and some of them, including the ones in question, have never even traveled internationally before (isn't that odd for a 15-16 year old world class athlete?) yet they have passports freshly minted.

Bela Karolyi has trained numerous world champions from many ethnic backgrounds from childhood and older for decades, so if his expertly trained eyes could see and assert that "half the Chinese team is underage"... well, I think that there may be something to it.

 

[miss_cinday]

Theres a new article up by the Associated Press that states one of the girls was in a local chinese paper nine months before the olympics. In the article, she was 13, and that was not even a year ago, so theres no way shes 16 this year.
I think its horrible what the chinese govt is doing make its county look spectacular in front of the world. It gives them a unfair advantage because they a smaller. During floor exercise, the girls didn't even need the whole floor because they were so much smaller than the other girls from the other teams.
Here's the link to the article:
State-media story fuels questions on gymnast's age - Yahoo! News

 

[DirtyHarriet]

I'm sorry if this is going to offend some people, but if those girls are not 16 then they should be stripped of their medals.

There is a reason that rule is in place. It protects young girls from taking so much abuse to their bodies when they are kids...which is extremely detrimental to their development.

Think about it, if a girl can only do a certain move so many times before your body gives out, then as a coach you're not going to push little girls that far if they can't even compete until they're 16.

A friend of mine was in gymnastics until a career ending ankle injury at the US Nationals, and due to her bone density and other gymnastics inflicted developmental problems she ended up in a cast for almost 2 years. She was in the sport before the days of the age limit. She has told me she will NEVER put any of her kids into gymnastics. The way kids are treated, and the abuse they put their bodies through is just not worth it.

My friend is 28 and her doctors have told her she has the body of a 45 year old. And she never even went as far as the Olympics.

I'm sorry, but I think if it's messed up that those girls are under the age limit. These cases should be thoroughly investigated, and if there is sufficient proof, then they should be stripped of their medals. The message should be that you have to follow the rules or you lose your medals. Otherwise this kind of abuse of young girls will continue.

This is no different that steroid use, as far as I'm concerned!

 

[fafinette21]

What is really going to be done about this? I mean this story is widespread and obviously has some merit to it. There SHOULD be an investigation and it should be more than the IOC looking only at passports which could be easily forged.