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China-Japan-Koreas
Chinese Olympic gymnasts legit - Chinese documents confirm 12 yr old is 16
2008-10-01
BEIJING, China (CNN) -- The Chinese women's gymnastics team did not use underage competitors during this year's Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, the International Gymnastics Federation said Wednesday.

The federation said it has concluded its inquiry into the matter after it confirmed the gymnasts' ages through official documents that the Chinese Gymnasts Association provided. The documents included passports, identity cards and household registers.

However, the organization intends to further investigate the ages of two gymnasts, Dong Fangxiao and Yang Yun, who participated in the 2000 summer games in Sydney, Australia. The federation said it did not consider the explanations and evidence that Chinese authorities provided in regard to those athletes as satisfactory.

The International Olympic Committee had asked gymnastics officials to clarify the situation after numerous commentators, bloggers and others questioned whether about half the members of China's team were old enough to compete. Watch tiny gymnasts work out »

Athletes must be at least 16 in the year the games take place. In women's gymnastics, younger girls can have an advantage over older competitors on account of their often smaller, lighter and more agile bodies.

The Chinese women's gymnastics team won a gold medal in a team competition at the Beijing games, and five members won individual medals.

One of the challenges came from a blogger known as "Stryde Hax." The blogger claimed to have uncovered proof that Chinese gymnast He Kexin is only 14.

In Internet searches, "Stryde Hax" allegedly uncovered Web pages showing lists complied by China's General Administration of Sport that show a 1994 date of birth for He.

CNN was not been able to independently verify the information, but snapshots of the Web pages appeared to back up the claim. Other bloggers joined the search and reported similar results.

The New York Times conducted its own investigation, producing similar results that seem to implicate He and two other members of the team. The Times uncovered a 2006 biography on He that lists her birthday as January 1, 1994.

The International Gymnastics Federation, however, has said that those gymnasts were eligible and that the ages on their passports were correct.
Posted by:GolfBravoUSMC

#2  Unfortunately for the IGF + IOCC, HE's own interviews and comments as per the MSM-Net do NOT go against the allegations/accusations agz China's team. HE IS EITHER VERY SMART OR POL ASTUTE FOR AGE 12, OR SOMEBODY'S TELLING HER WHAT TO SAY BEFORE THE IOCC + WESTERN MEDIAS.

Also, as per normal Gender-based physiological science, it is anatomically or naturally possible for for a 12-year old to scientif pass for age 16 [intermediate range = "grey area"].
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2008-10-01 21:10  

#1  To be expected. The Chinese government can manufacture genuine official documents with false dates of birth any time it wants to. Just goes to show that people who say that the central government is good, while local government is corrupt are delusional - the corruption and evil-doing is orchestrated by the central government, with occasional scapegoats from the local government singled out to lull the masses.
Posted by: Zhang Fei   2008-10-01 14:47  

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