Athletes only as old as China says they are - Are the Chinese under age or Undernourished?

[DogPoundPup]

The simmering issue over possibly under-age Chinese gymnasts did not seem to boil over before the women's (wink, wink) team final was to be settled Wednesday and with the host country in the way of a United States gold medal. But why do I get the feeling that if these Olympics were happening in Chicago or Los Angeles, the story would by now be a serious cable television cause célèbre?

Larry King would be interviewing the stricken parents of victimized Americans. Hannity would be chiding Colmes about Communist child abusers. Lou Dobbs would be demanding the borders be closed to all Chinese gymnasts under 80 pounds.

Here, claims by the coaching legend Bela Karolyi that what China has done is "a slap in the face of the whole world" have barely resonated outside the gymnastic venue and across the greater Olympic community. Opponents have been loath to complain and even his wife, Martha, the American team coordinator, hasn't publicly made a big deal of it.

The international gymnastic governing body known as the FIG said it was satisfied with the Chinese gymnasts' documentation, despite reports suggesting three of the mites might be under the required age of 16. The International Olympic Committee, so heavily invested in a Games that China can be proud of, apparently does not want to know about the admission of a former Chinese gymnast who reportedly has claimed to have competed as a 14-year-old at the 2000 Sydney Games.

Mind you, this is the same IOC that responded with the speed and urgency of Michael Phelps kicking off the wall to murky allegations of figure skating cheating in Salt Lake City's Winter Games six years ago by changing an official result in the pairs event to essentially douse a resulting news media firestorm.

When in North America, do as the North Americans do (overreact). When in China, overlook.

For better or worse, these are the shrug-and-don't-tell Olympics, undoubtedly because it would be considered impolitic to embarrass the Chinese after they went to such great expense to throw the world this lavish party.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/13/sports/13araton.php

[meegbear]

1. Undernourished?

To starve your athletes when they are training and competing is not a good strategy. I would question their age before that factor.

[BOSSHOG]

2. I saw a funny political cartoon earlier in the week

(don't recall where) but a couple was watching TV showing the judges holding up signs 8.5 - 8.0 - 9.0 - 7.5. The wife said those were interesting scores, the husband said the judges were trying to guess the competitors age.

[brentspeak]

3. According to my professors, most GRE test scores submitted by Chinese applicants

to U.S. grad programs are bogus. Made-up scores.

Not that the Chinese applicants are incompetent - often far from it. But the competition to get into U.S. programs is so fierce that the "fake GRE score" syndrome has taken hold. And that's just part of the academic subterfuge that goes on over there.

I would place a hefty wager that, yes, these Chinese female gymnasts are underage.

[tuckessee]

4. Nah, they just need some GM food & 'roid raised meat & they'll be fine. n/t

[marmar]

5. Thanks for that.....Sometimes, they're just better.

And in gymnastics, that's clearly the case.