<p>One of my Ds was very late to lose all her teeth, she lost that same tooth at 13</p>
<p>Not to stray off the topic too far, but don’t you find it difficult to read articles about this controversy?</p>
<p>I mean, the gymnast’s name is “He,” but she’s female. So, in the same paragraph, you often see the same person being referred to both as “He” and “She.” </p>
<p>For me at least, this is such a distraction that I find it hard to follow the stories.</p>
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Slightly OT, but just as an FYI, many children are born without at least some of their adult teeth at all; they just don’t develop in utero. So having the holes is no indication of true age. I know several kids in their late teens to 20’s who are just now getting implants to replace the teeth they lack - they have to wait until they stop growing to get the implants done.</p>
<p>Now back OT - there’s no way she’s 16 regardless of teeth!</p>
<p>The “investigation” it ordered into whether some Chinese gymnasts were under the minimum age of 16 was concluded after just a few hours Friday.</p>
<p>The not-so stunning verdict: The Chinese are innocent.</p>
<p>Please move along, now. Nothing to see here.</p>
<p>[IOC’s</a> gymnastics probe falls well short - Olympics - Yahoo! Sports](<a href=“Sports News, Scores, Fantasy Games - Yahoo Sports”>Sports News, Scores, Fantasy Games - Yahoo Sports)</p>
<p>what did you expect? All the official documents show an acceptable birthdate, and all the IOC will look at will be official documents - can anyone say Catch-22?</p>
<p>Count me among those who think that several of the Chinese “women” were underage and don’t really understand why the IOC didn’t conduct any investigation to speak of. </p>
<p>Would it help if a gymnast’s “birth date” had to be set and recorded at the first international competition? </p>
<p>I think there is something wrong with the sport itself, when 14-year-olds have an edge over older athletes and a competitor is all but washed-up at 20. Perhaps height/weight classes would be appropriate in women’s gymnastics.</p>
<p>But even so, the injury rate is so high that I would not have let my daughter compete in gymnastics. That’s not true of any other women’s sport–except possibly pole-vaulting (and ice-skating without a helmet).</p>
<p>Did anyone watch ladies’ platform diving last night? The age of the Chinese girls was listed as 15 and 16 … they looked their age. They were short (4’10"?) but their bodies looked more like our 15-16 year old gymnasts. Their traning & diet can’t be that different than the gymnasts, yet their muscles were a lot more developed and their faces looked a lot older than their “16 year old” gymnast countrywomen.</p>
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</p>
<p>They LOOK their age?
Chen Ruolin 4’5" 66lbs
[2008</a> Beijing Summer Olympics | Chen Ruolin Profile & Bio, Photos & Videos | NBC Olympics](<a href=“http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=1206/bio/index.html]2008”>http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=1206/bio/index.html)</p>
<p>Wang Xin 4’5" 61lbs
[2008</a> Beijing Summer Olympics | Wang Xin Profile & Bio, Photos & Videos | NBC Olympics](<a href=“http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=1209/bio/index.html]2008”>http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=1209/bio/index.html)</p>
<p>Compare to the Chinese gymnast (gymnasts tends to be smaller than diver)
He Kexin - 4’7" 72 lbs
[2008</a> Beijing Summer Olympics | He Kexin Profile & Bio, Photos & Videos | NBC Olympics](<a href=“http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=1448/bio/index.html]2008”>http://www.nbcolympics.com/athletes/athlete=1448/bio/index.html)</p>
<p>now you gotta file the protest against the chinese diving team too!</p>
<p>Yes, their bodies are tiny, but I think that those divers’ photos in the link show much more mature faces than the gymnasts’. Also, their bodies are much more muscular.</p>
<p>I presume the girls know how old they are, so if they are lying they too are accountable.</p>
<p>Getting the medal delivered by Fed Ex or even in some pseudo ceremony is nothing like getting it for real in the stadium or arena.</p>
<p>If they have knowingly done this, then the whole team (gymnastics, whatever) should be ineligible for the next Olympics. Is that a ‘logical consequence.’</p>
<p>I have no idea how old they are, but it would go a long way to learning if they measured their bone ages!!</p>
<p>Look at this, from the link:</p>
<p>Growing pains
If Chen does win gold in Beijing, she plans to reward herself with a big dinner. Since she has started growing, she has had to quit eating dinner in order to keep her weight down to be able to perform at her best, at times drinking water in order to stave off hunger. But once the Games are over, Chen plans to indulge at the table with her friends and family.</p>
<p>I don’t remember…did she win gold? Can she eat now?</p>
<p>After reading quite a lot about age limits and Chinese athletics, I really think that the Chinese view the age rules the way we view speed limits. We sort of see the speed limit as a general guideline…do you know anyone who has received a ticket for going 65 in a 55 who felt genuinely remorseful? We’re ticked if we get caught, but I don’t think most of us feel like a sinner afterwards.</p>
<p>Interesting side by side comparison chaosis. Now look at the birthdates. Are we really supposed to believe He (1/1/92) is almost a full year older than Chen Ruolin (12/12/92)? Or even 8 months older than Wang Xin?</p>
<p>I watched those divers…they are tiny and compact like gymnasts, but there is still something about their face and bone structure that makes their age more believable. Also, I don’t believe diving has the same age limit as gymnastics(?) I believe the individual sport’s governing body determines age of eligibility and there was a UK diver in men’s synchronized who was 14.</p>
<p>I get what missypie is saying about the Chinese gov’t view on rules. I’m NOT saying this is a Chinese people thing, so please do NOT hammer me on what I say next. But it is a fact of life in dealing with the Chinese government … bending the truth and obfuscation are not necessarily considered wrong. (My husband spent years in frustrating negotiation with the state-owned oil ministry to bring some of the first production to Bohai Bay.) It is very likely the gov’t doesn’t even ‘get’ what the fuss is all about. They probably figured He is as good as the older girls, so what is the harm in competing her with the older girls. They don’t see the theft of opportunity angle that affects the Beth Tweddles of the competition. So if someone genuinely believes they have not harmed anyone else, it becomes even more of a sticky situation.</p>
<p>Right. And that is why Bela K. is so “sure” that they are falsifying documents…because he is from a country where that was also done.</p>
<p>The other part is that there is such a difference in the parents and other competitors. Here, it’s all parent-financed and the US girls are competing with each other like crazy for the coveted spots - a US parent would have nothing to lose by ratting out an underaged girl - they’d probably relish their 90 seconds on the local news, showing off programs from old meets that show the girl’s true age. But in China, who knows if the parents have even been to any meets, and the girls themselves could lose so much if they said their teammate’s true age.</p>
<p>Apparently, the investigation is continuing: [Gymnasts</a>’ parents “indignant” over age questions - Olympics - Yahoo! Sports](<a href=“Sports News, Scores, Fantasy Games - Yahoo Sports”>Sports News, Scores, Fantasy Games - Yahoo Sports)</p>
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</p>
<p>From the Washington Post: </p>
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</p>
<p>[IOC</a> Requests Inquiry on Ages - washingtonpost.com](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/22/AR2008082200220.html]IOC”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/22/AR2008082200220.html)</p>
<p>I wonder if the moderators could combine the two threads discussing the Chinese gymnasts age and investigation. Should would make things a lot easier.</p>
<p>I thought the focus of the other thread was a previous competition, and why the winner of that competition, who declared sometime after that competition that she was underaged when she competed, wasn’t stripped of her medal.</p>
<p>I think the overall discussion of age, eligibility and adherence to rules…as well as the investigation into broken rules is the same in both threads. This thread is a perfect extension of the other.</p>
<p>missypie - The girls are victims of the Chinese government. The government took the girls from their parents for training at early ages. Many parents don’t take kids to the training sessions. Training is the job of the government. If the kids don’t do well they will become disgraced althletes and both the parents and the kids lose everything.</p>
<p>
[What</a> I’m looking forward to at the 2008 Games - Selena Roberts - SI.com](<a href=“http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/olympics/2008/writers/selena_roberts/07/31/wilft/index.html]What”>http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/olympics/2008/writers/selena_roberts/07/31/wilft/index.html)</p>
<p>[Many</a> Chinese Athletes Find No Glory In Retirement : NPR](<a href=“http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92520419]Many”>Many Chinese Athletes Find No Glory In Retirement : NPR)</p>
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<p>[The</a> Price of Reaching the Top - Sports news | Newser: Know More. Search Less.](<a href=“The Price of Reaching the Top”>The Price of Reaching the Top)</p>
<p>But what would their lives be like without the gymnastics or canoeing or badminton? 14 hours a day in a factory or 14 in the gym?</p>