He Kexin and the 2008 Chinese Gymnastic Team Under Scrutiny Again for Underage Concerns
A blogger and the New York Times have been doing some of its own research about the age of He Kexin and the rest of the 2008 Chinese gymnastic team. In their research, they found lists of gymnasts had their registered date of births for He Kexin and all the others on her team. The ages stated there would have made He and 3 other teammates under age.
China has assured everyone by the gymnasts' passports that they are all the correct age for competition this year. However, they have yet to prove by much else other than a passport. However now that this information has come to light how far will the IOC (International Olympic Committee) take this whole thing. They have already stated they are sure of the eligibility of He Kexin and the other Chinese gymnasts.
Really, if you think on it, how far would you go? If you were a committee that has already received flack for the judging of the USA Women's gymnastic team, and if you had truly made a mistake on the ages that puts your credibility in the toilet. So truly how far would you push it, I wouldn't believe very far. Also what is it worth to get China angry at the IOC and the United States? Is it worth taking the gold medals away on the all around and from He Kexin for the uneven bars?
Ultimately we are looking at a severe Catch 22 because no one wants to flaunt in China's face that they lied, if in fact that was what happened. And if these girls really are of eligible age then who does that make the fool but the Americans who keep pressing the point.
There is no easy answer here and unfortunately there may not be any true settling of this concern at all for the accusers. He Kexin is likely to walk away with her Gold medal and the Chinese gymnastic team will keep their gold medal for the all around as well. Although the age does play a sincere factor it doesn't change that He and her team were amazing this year and competed admirably.
Published by Chloe Thorn
I am 33, I have a wonderful daughter who is 14..... I love to read, write, cook, and dance. I also enjoy listening to music as loud as I can crank it. All genres of music interest me but especially, rock, po... View profile
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14 Comments
Post a Commentamz, you make is ignorant point. I bet you think that it's ok to use steriods to compete and win. But if someone brings up the fact that you were at an advantage to win, then they are just cry babies, right? If someone doesn't go by the rules, it's cheating and they should be disqualified. The US didn't make these rules, they just followed them. Open your eyes and realize that not everyone is truthful, especially a nation that exploits their own people to benifit winning a few medals.
It is sad, because I think perhaps we will never know what happened.
The olympic games is a wonderful event. There are rules which people go by in order to be able to participate. If a country decides it doesn't want to follow the rules everyone else does then we get into what China has done. I'm sorry but the USA trained by the rules and obeyed them to qualify for the games. I sat back the whole time knowing China was not going by the rules and some other country would most likely suffer from their (China's) refusal to. It happened and it happened to the USA and every other team involved in women's gymnastics. Now how is that for living up to the spirit of the ancient Greek games?
The olympic games is a wonderful event. There are rules which people go by in order to be able to participate. If a country decides it doesn't want to follow the rules everyone else does then we get into what China has done. I'm sorry but the USA trained by the rules and obeyed them to qualify for the games. I sat back the whole time knowing China was not going by the rules and some other country would most likely suffer from their (China's) refusal to. It happened and it happened to the USA and every other team involved in women's gymnastics. Now how is that for living up to the spirit of the ancient Greek games?
We didnt lose, anytime anyone wins a medal it is a wonderful thing. The United States worked hard and it showed. It still just seems off with the scores and the age concerns.
the us cant face the fact that they lost....who cares how old they were...if they are good at wat they do then watever......
ok AG apparently you were so educated on the subject as to know the Google, Google Cache CN, Baidu, and other documents were all on GOVERNMENT SERVERS. So obviously your stupid idea about making a document about Shawn Johnson would cause no doubts because you're just a random person. You don't have a government website to post it on. Idiot. We need to preserve the integrity of gymnastics in the Olympics. Seriously, this is stupid and there is no way THAT many people did not clarify her age. Oh, so they're all from the same place but they're all wrong! Typo! Oops. Don't give me that.
OK they did perform wonderfully but they are still underage. America has many underage athletes that they can't send to the Olympics because they are underage and without a doubt they would have medaled in the games as well. Those athletes do not have a chance to compete because the US would not let them due to their age then why should China get the advantage. No doubt the China's team was terrific but if they cheated, they need to face the consequences.
I would be shocked if all the girls were 16. I don't think questioning it means you are bitter, but rather that you want everyone to play by the same rules.
f the United States were to have allegations that the chinese have, it would be the top story of the Olympics - "US Caught Cheating" But some whimps are scared of offending some third world country. If they cheated... they should be stripped of the metals won. With that said "AG" the IOC should have a better system for checking the age & nationality of the athlete's, the US does not need to cheat to win in gymnastics. Your statements show you have NO clue as too the work they put in to compete. Let's say you were driving and you showed a passport showing you were 16 years old, although you are a good driver you are not old enough to be covered by insurance and this person killed your family member... and your statement "I feel sorry for the Chinese for these mad allegations overshadowing their achievements. Stop being so damn bitter, world, and enjoy the remaining Olympics!!! 'Until it's proven, it's all talk.' You need to returned your passport to the US and move to china.