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A determined U.S. computer expert has delved into cached pages on the Internet to unearth Chinese official documents showing a gymnast who took gold in the uneven bars competition, edging the U.S.’s Nastia Liukin, may indeed be underage.
Controversy over whether He Kexin is under the minimum age of 16 has surrounded her participation in the Beijing Olympics. The latest challenge over the age of the tiny Olympian comes from the discovery through a cyberspace maze of Chinese official documents listing her date of birth.
[…]
The latest unofficial investigation was carried out by computer security expert for the Intrepidus Group, whose site, Stryde Hax, revealed a detailed forensic search for He’s age.
Those inscrutable Chinese.
Found by MJ.
UPDATE:
BEIJING: The International Olympic Committee has asked the world governing body for gymnastics to investigate whether members of the Chinese women’s team were too young to compete in the Olympics.
The IOC instructed the international gymnastics federation, known as the FIG, to take up the issue Friday with the Chinese gymnastics federation and the Chinese Olympic Committee and report back to the IOC later in the day.
I don’t know, she looks at least 30 yrs old. LOL
I think the Chinese are scamming us with the ages of those little girls.
However, the Olympic rules say they have to TURN 16 in the year of the Olympics, which means they could be 15 now, and turn 16 on New Year’s Eve.
There was girl in the diving competition last night who was billed as “15 years old”. Presumably she’s going to turn 16 before the ball falls in Times Square, but who knows.
Many of them look like they’re about 12.
There is a disturbing lack of secondary sex characteristics among many of the “female” competitors.
She is a very good gymnast, but 16? No way. No wonder there is so much pedophilia in that part of the world. If she is sixteen you could bang that in Nevada and some other states (if you actually wanted too -eww).
Is the Olympic Spirit really about removing childrens childhoods from them?
Sports.
Silly Hoomans.
Seriously, what is the problem here? If some teenager beats you in a sport, perhaps the minimum age needs to be lowered.
If the best “athletes” are supposed to be at the Olympics, then age shouldn’t matter.
Why do people get so hooked on conspiracy theories?
You guys are just bitter because they won the gold and you didn’t.
The problem is the exploitation of children, and the purposeful skirting of the rules. China will most likely get away with it, but some one has to make an issue about it.
There’s nothing wrong with younger gymnasts and I think the age limit should be lowered. The problem is that China breaks the rules and we don’t.
larrinski, the argument for the age restriction is that smaller lighter competitors have an advantage in female gymnastics, so countries have exploited children to win medals. When the age was 14, 12 year olds were competing under false records. Also, drugs have been administered to young female gymnasts to inhibit their growth.
Couple that kind of nauseating behaviour with the wacky judging fiascos and you have a really, really stupid sport.
On the other hand, Natalie du Toit (South Africa 10 km distance swim) finished 16th with an amputated leg. She’s shooting for medals in the next Olympics. That kind of moxy you gotta like.
Why is it OK for 14 year old kids to build your iPhones but not to win an Olympic Gold?
#5 – Larri the Atheist
>>Seriously, what is the problem here? If some
>>teenager beats you in a sport, perhaps the
>>minimum age needs to be lowered.
If some 9 year old can sew faster than you in a sweatshop, then seriously… what is the problem?
If some 9 year old is better in bed than your wife, the serioulsly… what is the problem?
Weeeeelll, the problem is that the Chinese are taking toddlers from their families before they’re even done suckling at the breast, turning them into Sports Androids by the time they’re 10, and then passing them off at the Olympics as “women”, ready to compete in the “womens'” events.
It’s sick, skanky, gross, and thoroughly disgusting.
Anyone who has no problem with this kind of malfeasance should have no problem at all with sweatshop labor. At least in the sweatshop, they’re getting paid (sort of). Kiddie porn, for that matter.
All these little girls in the Olympics just gives me the creeps. What’s next? Cylons?
Drink coke win gold.
Mister Mustard, you got it right. Unfortunately, most countries aren’t like ours. They do this in Costa Rica for baseball. Playing these sports is their job rather than getting an education.
By the time she is 16 she will be downed like a greyhound or old race horse. With over a billion people, what is one more child’s lost future?
I figured that the Chinese were all about not bringing shame to themselves though. How odd.
Somebody_Else, you bring up a good point. There was a damning article in the Times a couple of years agao (I think) about iPod city and it pushed Apple to enforce their own supplier code of conduct.
Those are, 15 year old is the lower limit, but if under 18 then have to meet the UN code. 60 hour work weeks max. No harsh treatment, etc, etc.
That is considered “enlightened” in this day and age. Pretty much the same for Sony, Dell, HP, Lenovo, or anything you see in WallMart.
Apple actually inspects their plants, along with most major computer manufacturers listed above. If it doesn’t make you squeamish, it should.
#14
Just an example of a narcissists country Steph. Narcissists do believe their own lies and they have no conscience. They don’t think about how others feel. Others will perceive them as evil while they feel they are perfectly normal.
China has been this way for thousands of years, they are proud of it. Walls (big long ones), firewalls (golden), communists (red) all designed to keep their people ‘in’ not stuff ‘out’. Its all how you look at it – or not, as the case may be.
At least the food is good if you don’t watch what it is or how its made.
Free Tibet.
Edit
The first sentence above should read – Just an example of a country ruled by narcissists.
Doh. Didn’t mean to slam the actual slaves ..errr people.
#12 Mustard is right on target with this one.
“The minimum age for female gymnasts was increased from 14 to 15 in 1981, and up to 16 in 1997, to protect the physical and mental health of young athletes.
Nadia Comaneci was 14 when she won her fist Olympic gold medal in 1976. Yet despite her stardom, there were criticisms that young girls were being pushed too hard at an age when their bodies and bones were still growing, causing permanent damage. Ironically her coach was Mr Karolyi.
There were also concerns about their mental health, because of the pressure of competing on the world stage at such a young age, and that they were vulnerable to exploitation and even physical abuse by coaches.”
http://tinyurl.com/5v6wdv
Now, who did this cheating hurt?
-The entire sport of Gymnastics.
-Each and every team competing in Gymnastics.
-The reputation of the Olympics.
After all, who is to say that other countries didn’t have 14 year olds who were at least as good, but couldn’t compete because everyone else followed the rules?
This level of arrogant state sponsored cheating has hurt the Olympics, and the IOC has to do something draconian or watch the Olympics dissolve into irrelevancy. (At least the famous East German Wwim Team tried to hide their cheating!)
Most people really don’t watch the Olympics anymore. There are enough scandals without this back breaker.
Simple solution: Chinese Child Olympics. Gary Glitter wants to judge.
Instead of stripping her of her medals if the investigation turns up that she is under 16, I think she should keep her medals, because she did still put in a stellar performance. But China should be barred from sending any gymnasts to the 2012 Olympics. Kind of like what happens to a university if they violate NCAA policies. They wouldn’t get stripped of a title, but they sure won’t be going to a bowl game next year, and then some.
Barring China from the 2012 should be a minimum.
Unfortunately, all the metals which the Chinese Gymnastics team won should also be revoked and rewarded to teams which didn’t cheat for two reasons.
1-allowing China to keep the metals rewards cheating, and
2-it wasn’t a level playing field. Other countries including the US have gymnast who are under 16 who could have competed. Who knows what would have happened then?
I’m with diddlie–sanctions against China in the next Olympics.
I agree too that the medals should be stripped from those that didn’t follow the rules.
#22. Wow, accountability for actions! Let’s not get too carried away.
#21 – Ah
What’s with the highlighting of the misspelling of “medals”? Is this due to [Eds.], or did you do that yourself?
[That’s the handy, dandy Dvorak terrible misspelling marker. – ed.]
#24–Eds==I disagree. You miss the constant subtlety of Ah Yeas always excellent posts. The MEDALS have no worth as gained by fraud, the METALS (Gold, Silver, and Bronze) have market value as to all things severed from the earth.
Please correct your corrections, amend your amendments and return the post to its uncensored glory, AND BTW==using yellow marker was not lost on me either.
#9 “America doesn’t break the rules”
Really? Are you sure? I think America’s done much worse than enter an underage competitor at the Olympics.
Good job as always, bobbo!
She’s the best in the world no matter what her age is.
I’m sure the athletes who feel cheated can pass by Xiushui Jie and pick up a copy on the way home.
I won a gold medal once and my dumb-ass mother had it bronzed.