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<  The Olympics  ~  No PROOF Chinese Gymnast Underage

Lord_Gray
Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 11:25 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 06 Dec 2003 Posts: 1109
I guess for the whiners they will find something to whine about
one way or another all I can say is If you're men stop picking on
16 year old girl's act your age and learn to be graceful loser's



Persistent questions about Chinese, but no proof
By NANCY ARMOUR, Associated Press Writers
24 minutes ago

Buzz Up Print

China's He Kexin (C) shows her…

Getty Images - Aug 18, 10:17 am EDT
Olympics Gallery BEIJING (AP)—Despite persistent questions about the ages of several members of the Chinese women’s gymnastics team that won the gold medal, the International Olympic Committee said Friday there is still no proof anyone cheated and believes the controversy will be “put to rest.”

China has again given the governing body of gymnastics documents that show its athletes are eligible, and coach Lu Shanzhen said the girls’ families are “indignant” that the issue won’t go away.

“It’s not just me. The parents of our athletes are all very indignant,” Lu said in an interview with The Associated Press. “They have faced groundless suspicion. Why aren’t they believed? Why are their children suspected? Their parents are very angry.”

The IOC asked the International Gymnastics Federation to investigate “what have been a number of questions and apparent discrepancies,” spokeswoman Giselle Davies said. The FIG 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.

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Lu said the Chinese gave the FIG documents Thursday evening that included the current and former passport, ID card and family residence permit for double gold medalist He Kexin. Lu said the documents all say she was born in 1992, which makes her eligible to compete. Gymnasts must turn 16 at some point during the Olympic year in order to be eligible.

“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’s gold on bars, Yang Yilin won bronze medals in the all-around and uneven bars. Media reports and online documents have suggested that He, Yang and a third team member, Jiang Yuyuan, might be as young as 14.

“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.

Andre Gueisbuhler, secretary general of the FIG, said the federation would release a statement later Friday.

“For the time being, there is nothing I can add,” Gueisbuhler said.

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.

“If you trust every Web site but not a government … There are so many Web sites, so much hearsay,” Lu said. “These are not official. It is possible that all news on the Internet is accurate?”

China’s team did look noticeably younger than the Americans, who finished with the silver medal in the team competition. The Americans, though, had two 20-year-olds on their team, and all-around gold medalist Nastia Liukin turns 19 this fall.


China's Kexin stands on the po…

Getty Images - Aug 18, 8:46 am EDT
“At this competition, the Japanese gymnasts were just as small as the Chinese,” the coach 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.”

Although the IOC didn’t detail what prompted it to ask the FIG to look into the matter again, after competition had already ended, the U.S. Olympic Committee said it sent a letter to both organizations Friday asking them to resolve the matter.

“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.”


Members of China's gymnastics …

AP - Aug 13, 1:27 am EDT
The Chinese women won six medals, including the team gold and He’s gold on uneven bars. Media reports include a Nov. 3, 2007 story by the Chinese government’s news agency, Xinhua, that suggest He is only 14.

“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: “Fair play is an important aspect of the Olympic movement, and the IOC is responsible for ensuring that everybody is playing by the rules. This issue needs to be resolved, and it needs to be behind us. Once the IOC feels it has done everything in its power to resolve it, everyone is going to have to accept that at some level.”

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 in 2000.

“There have been questions that have been on the table and discrepancies that have been alluded to by certain parties,” Davies said. “The IOC is simply wanting to do its due diligence to 100 percent clarify the situation and put this to rest.”

Armour is an AP National Writer; Leicester is an AP Olympics Columnist. AP Sports Writer Stephen Wilson also contributed to this report.
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Lord_Gray
Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 11:28 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 06 Dec 2003 Posts: 1109
Oops they cheated right? at least thats the accusation.

stop picking on 10 year old girl's real mean dont pick on 10 yr old girls
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Malorkayel
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 12:06 am Reply with quote
Joined: 14 Nov 2003 Posts: 8915
LOL, but I read it on the intraweb!

Wow, I'm embarrassed. First we enter another cold war with Russia and now this..... what a bad week.
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ko_xinga
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 1:32 am Reply with quote
Joined: 24 Apr 2007 Posts: 1968
Malorkayel wrote:
LOL, but I read it on the intraweb!

Wow, I'm embarrassed. First we enter another cold war with Russia and now this..... what a bad week.


And the americans drop the baton in back to back races. next Argentina beats the US in basketball.
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bamboodragon
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 11:35 am Reply with quote
Joined: 05 Nov 2007 Posts: 1900
cmon people. If the USA says it's true, it HAS to be true..
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temuchin
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 12:30 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 01 Apr 2004 Posts: 7918
you fags live in the US yet bash it and take glee when the US ****** up

even more logically, you take the word of the CCP over the free press. in other words you will more willingly accept the words of a self-admitted propaganda arm of a ruling party over the words of the free press (perhaps biased but not legally restricted) simply because one group is chinese and the other is not

you are smart. great points in this thread too. like you've all given up on the idea that He isn't underaged so now you're hanging around hoping no one can "prove" it
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ArcticMonkey2
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 12:49 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 1683
temuchin wrote:
you fags live in the US yet bash it and take glee when the US ****** up

even more logically, you take the word of the CCP over the free press. in other words you will more willingly accept the words of a self-admitted propaganda arm of a ruling party over the words of the free press (perhaps biased but not legally restricted) simply because one group is chinese and the other is not

you are smart. great points in this thread too. like you've all given up on the idea that He isn't underaged so now you're hanging around hoping no one can "prove" it


You profess your love for this great land of the free. And yet you forgot one of the most important factor in the U.S justice system is INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY. So essentially you want to throw that part out, and freely accuse people of crimes they never committed. So to you, they are guilty and have to prove their innocence, thats half azz backwards.

You hate the Chinese gov't so much, yet your action is the same as what they did during the Culture Revolution. Freely accusing and labeling people without any prove of their actions.
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Malorkayel
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2008 1:06 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 14 Nov 2003 Posts: 8915
I do cheer for USA. However, the Media is disgraceful. Show me free press in USA? That died with gitmo and NSA wire taps.

Like I said, I cheer for every HUMBLE American Athlete. I don't tolerate propaganda shoved down my throat by mouth piece of "ruling elite" corporations.

Also, the Chinese genuinely cheer for Americans in Beijing. And we turn around and call them cheaters and liars in their own soil. It's disgraceful.
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supraman
Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 3:39 am Reply with quote
Joined: 12 Dec 2003 Posts: 2872
http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/gymnastics/news;_ylt=AqZU8CnGyVti5lp9wWa8QHiVTZd4?slug=ap-gym-underagechinese&prov=ap&type=lgns

Quote:
Rogge says gymnasts’ paperwork appears in order
By NANCY ARMOUR, AP National Writer
Aug 24, 10:20 am EDT


Yes, this competition really was and probably will remain … one for the ages.

International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said paperwork appears to support what China has been saying all along: that all six members of its gold medal women’s gymnastics team were old enough to compete at the Beijing Games. Gymnastics officials were still poring over the documents submitted by the Chinese in response to a request for more information on the birthdates of He Kexin, Yang Yilin, Jiang Yuyuan, Deng Linlin and Li Shanshan.

“The international federation has required the delivery of birth certificates and all the documents like family books, entries in schools and things like that,” Rogge said. “They have received the documents, and at first sight it seems to be OK.”

If evidence of cheating is found, four of China’s six medals could be affected. In addition to the team gold, He won gold on uneven bars and Yang got bronze medals on bars and the all-around.

Questions about the Chinese gymnasts’ ages have been swirling for months, with media reports and online records suggesting that He, Yang and Jiang might be as young as 14. The International Gymnastics Federation and IOC thought they had put the matter to rest before the games, when the IOC said it had checked the girls’ passports and deemed them valid.


China's He Kexin (C) shows her…

Getty Images - Aug 18, 10:17 am EDT
But the suspicions persisted. Even though the competition had long since ended and the games were almost done, the IOC asked the FIG last week to check into the issue one more time.

Chinese gymnastics officials handed over passports, ID cards and family residence permits to the FIG, and China’s deputy sports minister said all the information appears to be in order. The FIG made no comment Sunday, and hasn’t given a timetable for a resolution.

“The ages of the members of our gymnastics delegation entirely conform to the requirements for participation in the Beijing Olympic Games, ” Cui Dalin said.

Gymnasts must turn 16 during the Olympic year to be eligible.

Cui also said discrepancies about He’s age were the result of a paperwork error. Chinese officials decided to move He from her local team to the national team at last year’s China’s Cities Games, but Cui said a “misunderstanding appeared” about her age during the registration process. The government’s news agency, Xinhua, identified He as one of “10 big new stars” after the Cities Games and gave her age as 13.

“So it was the appearance of a mistake in the process of transferring teams that the misunderstanding appeared,” Cui said. “However, I can right here accurately say that the ages of the members of our gymnastics delegation entirely conform to the requirements for participation in the Beijing Olympic Games.”

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.
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mirthheart
Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 12:08 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 06 Feb 2003 Posts: 2745 Location: Houston
If those girls are 15 years old about to turn 16 in an Olympic year, then my nephew who is 5 years old is at least 12. Rolling Eyes
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