For those following the Olympics and accused Chinese under-aged gymanst

IOC orders investigation into He Kexin's age

The International Olympic Committee has ordered an investigation into the age of Chinese gymnast He Kexin, The Times of London reports. Faced with almost insurmountable evidence which suggests that He is two years younger than the birth date listed on her Chinese passport, the IOC has launched an inquiry that could result in the stripping of He's gold medals.

This news comes on the heels of another Times report that details the findings of a New York computer security expert who found official Chinese documents that list He's age as 14 years and 220 days.

source

Re: For those following the Olympics and accused Chinese under-aged gymanst

I will be interesting to see if they really do anything . I'm not holding my breath.

Re: For those following the Olympics and accused Chinese under-aged gymanst

Re: For those following the Olympics and accused Chinese under-aged gymanst

well I hope they do find out her real age b/c I'm sorry, there is no way she is 16

Re: For those following the Olympics and accused Chinese under-aged gymanst

ITA she looks like a young teen. I thought that before they even started reporting this.

Re: For those following the Olympics and accused Chinese under-aged gymanst

So IF (and I am sure that is a big if) the IOC finds that she is 14 and not 16 would they take away all of her individual and team medals?

Re: For those following the Olympics and accused Chinese under-aged gymanst

Re: For those following the Olympics and accused Chinese under-aged gymanst

So if they do investigate and find this to be true, does the WHOLE team get disqualified and lose their TEAM GOLD MEDAL?

Re: For those following the Olympics and accused Chinese under-aged gymanst

Re: For those following the Olympics and accused Chinese under-aged gymanst

Re: For those following the Olympics and accused Chinese under-aged gymanst

Message edited 8/21/2008 9:41:35 PM.

Re: For those following the Olympics and accused Chinese under-aged gymanst

even next to the other Chinese gymnast, she looks like a little girl

Re: For those following the Olympics and accused Chinese under-aged gymanst

Re: For those following the Olympics and accused Chinese under-aged gymanst

I love how they said, with the "amount of evidence"... The IOC is so corrupted that they have no way of "ignoring" the issue this time.

Re: For those following the Olympics and accused Chinese under-aged gymanst

I would imagine the team medals would be stripped to since her scores wouldn't be added in and then the team score would drop to last.

Re: For those following the Olympics and accused Chinese under-aged gymanst

I think it would only be fair to strip her and her team of the medals if she is in fact under the age of 16.

Re: For those following the Olympics and accused Chinese under-aged gymanst

What are they going to do? Ask the Chinese govt for more "documentation" of her age??

Re: For those following the Olympics and accused Chinese under-aged gymanst

Are there scientific ways to find out age? Like checking teeth or something like that? That is the only way they would be able to find out for sure because it isn't like the government is going to be helpful!

Re: For those following the Olympics and accused Chinese under-aged gymanst

From aol.com

I didn't know it had been such a problem recently

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.

Re: For those following the Olympics and accused Chinese under-aged gymanst

it's so sad b/c she's just a kid...listening to her coaches and the authorities and following her dreams.

stripping away HER medals does NOTHING to the chinese...you think they care after everything else they've done?!?!?! come on.

it will only hurt her.

such a terrible situation.

Re: For those following the Olympics and accused Chinese under-aged gymanst

Re: For those following the Olympics and accused Chinese under-aged gymanst

I can't believe that they dismissed the "investigation" so quickly! Ridiculous!


IOC: Despite questions, no proof Posted Thursday, August 21, 2008 9:54 PM ET

Associated Press
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.

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?"


Related Stories
Tough math leaves Liukin silver
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.

"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."

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."

Message edited 8/22/2008 12:24:07 PM.

Re: For those following the Olympics and accused Chinese under-aged gymanst

Re: For those following the Olympics and accused Chinese under-aged gymanst

Re: For those following the Olympics and accused Chinese under-aged gymanst

I doubt they will find out.....the govt probably has all false documents no way to prove, I feel bad for nastia and the americans who didnt cheat and came in second, its not fair to them, especially the uneven bar comp, nastia had a clean routine while the chinese girl had an unclean landing and still took the gold...