Another Chinese Olympic Scandal
Filed under: Zportz
We thought some of those girls looked quite young!
The Associated Press has dug up some Chinese media reports that show one of the girls who helped the Chinese women's gymnastics team capture gold at the Olympics on Tuesday did not meet minimum age requirements for competition.
Apparently, just nine months before the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government's news agency, Xinhua, reported that gymnast He Kexin was 13!
Gymnasts have to be or turn 16 years old during the Olympic year to be eligible for the games. That would have totally made her ineligible to be on the team that won a gold medal this week!!
In its report on November 3rd, Xinhua identified He as one of "10 big new stars" who made a splash at China's Cities Games
The AP found the Xinhua report on the site Thursday morning and saved a copy of the page.
Later that afternoon, the website was still working but the page was no longer accessible. Sports editors at the state-run news agency would not comment for publication.
Shady, shady!
Zhang Hongliang, an official with China's gymnastics delegation at the games, said Thursday the differing ages which have appeared in Chinese media reports had not been checked in advance with the gymnastics federation:
"It's definitely a mistake. Never has any media outlet called me to check the athletes' ages."
The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) has said repeatedly that a passport is the "accepted proof of a gymnast's eligibility," and that He and China's other gymnasts have presented ones that show they are age eligible. The International Olympics Committee also checked the girls' passports and deemed them valid.
We wonder how easy it is to doctor passports in China!
Can't they do DNA tests to determine age?
Maybe the IOC should look into that for the 2012 London games to make sure everything is fair!!
[Image via Getty Images.]
Those assholes are some shady fuckers, alright.
comunist country!!!!
those bitches
What a crafty little nation
Lets cut her in half and count the rings. Everyone needs to quit cryin, the squints will never fess up and we got out asses kicked. Bad day for the US, move on.
Oh and 3rd bitches
BIG SURPRISE!!!!!
GET OFF THE CHINESE BASHING PEREZ!
fuck china
i knew they didn't look old enough! shady shady.
Yeah, let's carbon date all the athletes. Seriously though, it does give China an advantage to use girls of any age. There are so many incredibly talented gymnasts in this country that could be competitive at 14/15 but when they have to wait because of age - they are not as competitive at 18/19. Their bodies grow taller and puberty affects them. I don't mind 14 year-olds competing, as long as every country is allowed to compete with younger gymnasts.
fuck liars
fuck communists
Its always been alleged that the chinese gymnastis have been younger then the 16 they claim. They get these kids from daycare and start training them at an "elite" level at the age of 3. Most of the chinese 'women' on the gymnastic team look younger then 13 actually…
fuck chinese gymnasts
wow.. 13?
i don't have a tv at home so i haven't been keeping up with the olympics, except for the scandals that perez posted. so i don't know what any of the atheletes look like…
well she's young.. she must have been pressured into this by her parents.. when i was 13 i wieghed around 105 pounds (i weigh like 116 now lol) and i was healthy and somewhat atheletic (jogged, walked, lap swimming, easy stuff like that) but i couldn't even reach past my KNEES without bend my legs. and the splits? no matter what i did… i'd always end up pulling something >.
Ugh, China and their shady tactics.
olympics are seeming sketchy this year
lol either i type slow or alot of people just wait for a chance to be the first to post a comment.. i'm number 15… and it said no comments when i was typing. oh wells
first & wow!
nobody likes a cheater!
The fact that most of the girls were still losing baby teeth should have said something there. Just saying…
no they can't do DNA tests it olny shows what blood type you are
Seriously perez, thoe girls looked like they were 12 years old at most, it was weird. No one found their appearances suspicious beforehand??
their gold medals should be taken away!!
i KNEW IT. those girls look like
they are six. prbly picked up in
a geisha house.
{{{{ China haz 2/cheat/…..2 win }}}}}}}}}}}}
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
effen lozerzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz bitchezzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
if it is proven that they are underage would anything happen? i know some have said they could lose their medal but i also heard that once a medal is awarded it cant be taken back.
Gymnastics is never truly a fair sport. Remember Sydney 2000 when Svetlana Khorkina did not have the vault set properly for her? There are people who set the vault to required specs, and the officials did not do it properly. She said to the judges before vaulting that it was too low, but they would not let her change it. She vaulted as best she could and got silver. She should've been given the right to adjust the vault, but she was denied a fair chance. She should've walked away with gold. Same thing with mens gymnastics…in the last Olympics, one of the Hamm twins got gold and he clearly didn't deserve it. Another gymnast had a similar unfair situation, South Korean Yang Tae Young. He was mistakenly given the wrong start value for his parellel bars routine, and HUGE mistake on the judge's part that should have left him with Gold. Instead, Hamm got it because of a major error on the judge's part. Gymnastics is NEVER fair.
Re: Frag The Paps – "Count the rings"….lol
can you honestly say you're surprised?
it's over. they would've won without her anyways.
next time, the FIG should look into these things more. I mean how could you NOT be suspicious of their ages?
Re: gdeeaz – Nope. You can lose medals. Recently an athlete gave back medals won years ago because it turned out she was doping the whole time.
That is so stupid. I mean, seriously, do they not realize that this is not only affecting the honor code of one of the oldest world traditions, but also politically. People are not going to trust China after this. It sure makes me wonder…. If they're so willing to break the rules to win in the Olympic games, what's to say they wouldn't pull something like this in the political spectrum??
DNA tests can't determine age. Full body X-rays can give a pretty accurate number.
The same thing happened with Korea in past games. They couldn't prove anything until one the girls on the Korean team had her pic taken. They noticed that her baby teeth had just fallen out and her perm. teeth were beginning grow in. She was disqualified.
Plus, some of the other gym coaches have been trying to prove this from the beginning of the games, but with out hard core proof, the other gymnast are screwed.
Doesn't really surprise me though that China would pull something like this.
Or the Chinese are telling the truth, and she is 16.
I lived in China for 2.5 years. They can/will forge anything you need. It's not an issue. Those girls are no where close to 16. Asians look younger, but not that much.
i have to say i agree completely with CreativeOne
Re: JoeIsAmazing – nobody likes a cheater, but no one can resist one
Re: gdeeaz –
Yes, if it can be proven that they are underage, their medal can be taken for team comp.
Dude, they don't need to DOCTOR the passports, they issue them! They also issue birth certificates, and they also desperately want to win medals, you work it out!
geeez, who cares???
All i care about in the olympics is Michael Phelps!!!
Sooo Hot!!
Well, we need to find out the truth, because that is cheating and they should have the gold taken from them if this is true. I say it is true because the girl (even with all the makeup on) does not even look 12.
LOL. the passports are issued by the government, which control the olympics, so of course the passport documents are OFFICIAL. however, it does not mean they are TRUTHFUL.
keep in mind that a successful IMAGE means everything to the chinese government, and they don't care how many singers, fireworks, or documents they have to fake to get it.
I thought the British diver kid was only 14?
Regardless of the ages, the fact remains that they were just better. Even if they met the age requirement, it wouldn't have had any affect on the mistakes that the US made.
There are quite a few ways, to determine age (it is done all the time for John/Jane Doe victims)…but, apparently, it wasn't all that important for the IOC or the IGF, to figure out..
it is shady, but get over it. The olympics ruled they were eligible and the Chinese aren't going to confess. With all this bitching it just makes the US look like whining cry babies.
Ooo only counts for gymnasts - didn't read it properly! : P
um us should win the gold then!
Lie, cheat and steal the gold medals. Everyone knew that the Olympics in China where going to be shady. Stupid Olympic commitee it's their fault.
As a gymnast, both collegiate and club, for the past 12 years, there is no way in hell those girls are 16. And it's about as easy to forge something in a totalitarian regime like China as it is to forge a gym class note in an American high school. Someone made an ignorant comment that the Chinese would have won anyway. What kind of moron are you? 1) MANY of their girls are under 16, not just one 2) How can anyone say what would have happened and 3) we lost by 2.3 points, which, if Sacramone doesn't fall and Johnson and Liukin don't step out of bounds on floor, we come close to making up. They could have been rattled by the Chinese- no excuse, they choked- but I'm saying had the Chinese performed differently, i.e, without 13 year olds, the U.S. MIGHT have performed differently. This isn't about China-hating, it's about what's fair. A full investigation should be done, and if China is found to have cheated- which they did- their gold medal should be stripped. It won't happen, though. The IOC has turned a blind eye to so much shit from the Chinese they're going to keep doing it.
Actually one of our divers, Tom Daly, is only 14 so I'm not sure if this age thing is right. He is definitely only 14 and he's allowed to compete legally!
Re: gdeeaz –
they absolutely can lose a medal. what kind of idiot told you medals can't be taken back. haven't you heard about marion jones? took away all 5 of her medals for doping. come on, those girls were not 16 years old…some of them were still missing teeth! what kind of idiots do the chinese government think we are?
Re: DIJordan –
You are right that their team was better on that night. But, that is not the issue - Had EVERY country been able to use 14 year-old gymnasts, you would have seen a lot more competing and it would have given the US and others a much larger pool of gymnasts for Olympic trials. I happen to know an exceptional 7 year-old optional gymnast, who will be elite in probably 3 or 4 years… she will not make the age limit for the 2016 games. If she is as good as everyone thinks she will be, that is a disadvantage for the US. Perhaps she should just go to China.
Re: Frag The Paps –
u're retarded. and not third.
Please, let us let them have their moment. Go China!!! (Yes, I said it, I really want them to win more medals or maybe I just don't want the US to come out on top). Their is corruption in ever country on every level. Our booboo smells too. And trust, China is more capitalist than anything. The communist thing is a cover to pacify the oppressed group. China is the Asian United States and because of that, I guess I should say… Go Chinese Athletes (instead of Go China)!!!!
Show a picture of the girl, Perez. Anyone watching the Olympics is flabbergasted they are getting away with saying she's 16. She doesn't look at day past 8th grade, if that. She doesn't just look young - she IS young - too young. They are totally cheating. It's absurd. She's the anti-Catherine Zeta Jones!
Re: Miss Mac –
only gymnastics has an age requirement. and i know a lot of people are saying that age doesn't matter but look at it this way. so many gymnasts in the united states are more talented and could not make past olympic teams (such as shawn johnson) because of that age requirement. age has a HUGE play. these chinese babies are not only shorter, they weigh less, and have less stress and pressure than older girls. they don't have to worry as much about winning a medal because guess what, they can always come back in four years and still "be sixteen years old" to win a medal. but look at girls ilke alicia sacramone. they are almost 20 and in 4 years, might not be able to compete again because the athletic life of gymnasts is so short.
it's just completely unfair to other countries and i bet you the IOC and other committees aren't doing anything about it because the chinese government is probably bribing them and licking their asses.
HAHA! DNA TESTS TO DETERMINE AGE????? HAHAHA!!! GO BACK TO SCHOOL YOU MONGOLOID! YOU TROGLODYTE! HAHAHA! DNA TO DETERMINE AGE…WHERE'D YOU PULL THAT ONE FROM??? WOW THANKS FOR THE LAUGH, NUMNUT
Re: gravity –
u're a whiny asshole.
Perez… don't be such A STUPID CUNT… get you information straight about what DNA tests can do… jesus!!!!!!!!
DNA tests. For age. Are you SERIOUS?!
Jesus Perez are you really that stupid? I mean thats' like Jessica Simpson stupid!
I'ts a shame that the Chinese government have to cheat. Those Chinese girls could NOT have been 16 (well, maybe one of them). I admint that USA girls didn't perform top knotch - but they didn't cheat either. What a shame the Olympic committee won't look into it. Even after thier own press found discrepancies in the ages. People fake passports al the time. Man this whole thing justs sparks my ass off….GO USA!
Also, there is a big difference between a judge making a MISTAKE and a country flat out CHEATING? And the host country at that!
Re: LettyB – A champion for Chinese rights? Will wonders never cease? rotflmfao However, you must accept that "Perez" is NOT reading your silly little 'demand'! Your opinion means nothing to him; you are just a proverbial brick in the wall here, much like in 'real lilfe.' Hmmm… Does it make you feel important if you thing he does read it? Do you think he will suddenly accept your warped, delusional and nasty view of anything? Would that make you feel important and not the 'invisible' social speck you are? ……Keep going; you are showing progress. Additionally, you are entertaining, in a perverse sort of way. rotfl
Re: MarleyRai – You're a dumb idiot why would you cheer for China a bunch of lying shady assholes over your own country??
This whole thing is a farce. It's bad freaking enough that the Olympics are being held in China anyway, but they're just a bunch of frauds. Why are people still supporting this event? Digital fireworks, fake singers, and now a cheating team. FRAUDS!!!
omg. wtf!? its only obvious they, the Chinese, could easily change her age just so she can be part of the team. they want everything to look perfect. but thats really unfair to other girls. just like everyone else has mentioned. but like Nikkee120 said, the Chinese are gonna get away with it.
does anyone see a second RED SCARE?
Check out how young they look
www.nbc olympics.com/gymnastics/news/newsid=190870.html
You can check teeth. kind of like carbon dating only not so much lol. There are basic physical markers that indicated puberty, that two of the girls on the China team just didn't have. Their necks weren't very long indicating growth, and for the most part their bodies were proportional, something that doesn't occur around the age of 16. Ears, noses etc tend to look larger during those years. one girl (who did look of age) had enormous ears lol
The Chinese government won't allow anyone to press too far into this case because they are evil. The only reason why the US is bitching is because our women fell and went out of bounds and we are sore losers. Same reason why other countries want our swim attire to be against the rules.
DNA Tests to determine age? Jesus christ, someone didnt go to biology! Of course you can't determine someone's age via DNA!!! Don't you think that the police would use that constantly if it were possible?!?!?! That was the most ridiculous thing ive seen on Perez…and that says a lot!!!
Re: Nikkee120 – Well said!! You are so right. it isn't chinese hating - it's a matter of principle now.
age limits are set by the ruling body of the given sport. the olympics just convene and follow those rules.
for diving, it's 14 years of age. for gymnastics, it's 16.
they cheated, but there's no way to prove it. the government will cover this up. since they're the ruling authority, they'll just forge everything they need. big deal. it sucks, but we can't change it.
wow..someone just said "Carbon date the gymnasts"….do you people even know what your talking about! You cant carbon date someone!!!!!!!! holy eff….Americans really are uneducated…shame shame shame!
EVERYONE knows those girls were underage!! only one of them actually looked 15…it's really sad actually.
clearly you didn't watch the games perez, bela karolyi (USA coach from '96) said ON CAMERA that half the team was underage and shouldn't be allowed to compete.
they pluck those girls from homes at age 3 and start them training. they only see their family once a year!
#55 is a crazy fuck.
I'm part chinese and yet I can't STAND china or the chinese athletes. all these little antics with the fake fireworks and the fake singing girl was bad enough, but to cheat at the olympics is just shameful. it doesn't matter if they were better, it matters that they follow the rules and abide by the traditional olympic spirit–all the other countries do! Why should the host country get to cheat? Those bitches just want to show the world how great they are and I hope karma comes back and bites china in the ass.
lots of scandals, eh. well, on a positive note, the american, phelps, has done fantastic! keep it up!
Ugh why does china keep pulling shit like this - it only makes them look worse. Im sure in that 1 billion population they could find talented gymnasts that are over the age limit.
China wanted the gold medal at any costs, even if they have to cheat to get it. Oh well the GOLD MEDAL might be there's, but THE WORLD KNOWS they cheated to get it !! That's Shameful !!
Those girls are CLEARY underaged, and why should China be rewarded for cheating? It is completely unfair to the countries who go by the rules, who play fairly.
It is an advantage to have younger athletes, because in gymnastics, the smaller and lighter you are the more skills you can do - with ease. The FIG set the age limit for a reason, and for the Chinese to try to cheat is completely unfair to the teams who have worked so hard to be where they are today.
The FIG and the IOC should do a formal investigation - its no surprise that the Chinese fabricated documents.
The big question is would this story even be put up if the US had won the gold the other day? Nope. Because it wouldnt matter. The US lost because they sucked it up that day. I know those are great athletes but almost all of them fell/faulted whatever, and the Chinese were flawless. If the age thing is true, so what, the Chinese put on a better show by far. Their communism doesnt matter, their age doesnt matter, they performed better. Period. All this does is make Americans sore losers. If you guys were accused of using underaged gymnasts you would play it exactly the same, communist or not.
Re: Vanesa –
It is called sarcasm and actually you can carbon date bones and anything organic. Archeologists use carbon dating all the time on remains, but I'll let you look that one up on your own.
Re: Nikkee120 –
I'm with you. Those little girls missing teeth, their muscles aren't even fully developed.
They had never won a gold before, now they had to cheat to get one. How sad!
take away their medals!!!
USA just don't know how to lose….. you lost get over it!!!!…. the Chinese girls were way better…
Re: ajs_lips – The minimum age for diving is younger than gymnastics, hence why Tom Daley is allowed to perform. It was put in place to prevent child cruelty and abuse ironically in places like China, where the children were being pushed often to horrific limits.
The IOC are just trying not to embarrass the host-nation in this case, they could go for further proof, but they won't.
Re: CreativeOne – I agree with you and Bela…age restrictions should be lifted. After all, the Olympics should be an 'even playing field', but…after watching every Olympic gymnastics competition, since 1972 (I was too young to appreciate the '68 meet lol), it's just a 'given' that it never was, and never will be. There is always going to be deceit and bias…by the country, coaches, athletes and/or judges. If you have a solution, I am all ears.
Perhaps you can answer a question, that has been floating around in my head. Why didn't the question of age come up before the start of the competition? You can't tell me that no one noticed how itty bitty those girls are, beforehand…during the World Championship, for example. They could have filed complaints long before the start of the Olympic trials, instead of waiting until they started. I am not trying to be snide…I would truly like to know.
Re: ALIEN SPAWN – I ASKED YOU ABOUT MY MASTURBATING PROBLEM AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T RESPONDED!
Hahaha. That's so funny actually because when I was watching it the other night I said to the person watching it with me when one of the chinese girls went up…"God, she looks like she's like 12 years old!"
I guess I may have been close! 
YOU PEOPLE ARE SO DUMB! YOU CALL CHINA ALL THESE NAMES YET HALF THE THINGS IN YOUR HOME, ON YOUR BACK, YOUR KNOCK OFFS ARE MADE THERE! ISN'T THAT A CONTRADICTORY STATEMENT! I DON'T AGREE WITH CHINA POLICIES BUT THERE ARE CHINESE PEOPLE IN THAT COUNTRY FIGHTING AGAINST THE COMMUNISM! DO YOU NOT KNOW ABOUT TIANEMEN SQUARE! YOU ARE ALL VERY ARROGANT IN YOUR THINKING! OUR GOVERNMENTS ARE NOT PERFECT AND WE HAVE A VERY SUBTLE COMMUNISM IN NORTH AMERICA! DO NOT BE SO SUPERIOR!
It's not that the US are 'sore losers' it's the fact that the cheaters are being rewarded and the FIG and IOC aren't doing anything to stop it.
And yes, age makes a huge difference. Nadia Comaneci was 14 when she won gold - her size and age were an advantage because four years later, she wasn't able to do the same routines.
And who's to say that other countries won't try to enter underaged girls as well, now that China has gotten away with it so easily
Re: Nikkee120 – I am the rare type of 'moron', apparently…one who stands by their comments, until proven wrong.
From what I read, and heard, Sacramone's fall (and the others' 'step out of bounds') was NOT attributed to the ages of the Chinese team. Sacramone and Marthe, BOTH, stated that it was because she was made to wait, by the balance beam, for at least 15 min., after her name was called…and, she lost her nerve and concentration. Was it right, for the judges to do that? No. Did it have anything to do with age? I don't see how it could.
As for those who stepped out of bounds, during the floor exercises…could it be that they over-extended the flips, twists and turns, that caused it? I tend to think so. Although, I am not a 'seasoned' gymnast, such as yourself.
The next 'conspiracy theory' that we will probably hear, is that the Chinese government decreased the boundaries, for the floor exercises….just so the Americans would step out, while the little legs of the Chinese would not wind up in the middle of the mat (as opposed to close to the corner).
I bet all you losers cheat all the time.. why are you being hypocrites about this little deal. China won, end of story.
Captain Canada Says, "The Fox is in the hen house". Maybe it is I move to China they can make me 21 again. I can then be a young hot Captain China who can change his age, and have someone pretend to be me but use my voice. Ahhhhhhhhh
Re: LettyB – It is not the Chinese people we are upset with, it is the government. The gymnasts are being used by their government, it is sad. And yes, there are citizens protesting the government and communism in the country, there was a protest a couple of days ago, but most were foreigners. Teineman Square happened in the 80's, so I doubt that was related to the Chinese government falsifying ages of gymnasts in order to further their facade of superiority.
Those little bitches look like they are 10 and still have powdered twats. There is no way they are 16. A few years from now they will be chanting "fuckee suckee long time!" outside of a Vietnamese brothel.
they should be fucking disqualified. I HATE THAT SHIT.!!! FUCK CHINA THEY WON THE GOLB BY CHEATING THEY SHOULD BE PROUD
Re: CreativeOne – I AM NOT SAYING TIANEMEN SQUARE HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE UNDERAGE GYMNAST. THAT WOULD BE DUMB! I AM SAYING TO THOSE NOT REFERING TO THE SCANDAL BUT JUST CHINESE PEOPLE IN GERNERAL TO LEARN A LITTLE HISTORY OF THE COUNTRY BEFORE BASHING IT'S PEOPLE!
Good! Fucking cheaters! I hope they get their medals taken away.
a few days behind on this "new" but i smell jelousy.
Team china was the best so fuck off!
FIRST OF ALL THIS WHOLE AGE ISSUE CAME ABOUT WHEN FU XINHUA SHOCKED THE WORLD BY WINNING THE WOMEN'S 10 M DIVING AT BARCELONA. THIS IS PURE INVENTION TO INTIMIDATE TALENTED CHINESE WOMEN/GIRLS. NOW, ALL THIS SHIT AFTER THEY DEFEAT TEAM USA BY A HUGE FUCKING MARGIN!!!!!!!!
GO EAT A COW DICK AND CHOKE ON IT USA!!!!!!