Lightbulb Hands reported on a competition in China in which the Chinese girls (Jiang Yuyuan, Li Shanshan, He Kexin etc., etc.) showed off their MAD SKILLZ: He Kexin broke 17.000 on uneven bars and Jiang Yuyuan has an Amânar.
And they showed that they want that damn Olympic team gold medal.
But I’d rather they didn’t. (Sorry girls.)
I’d cheer for the girls individually but not as a team. I respect Cheng Fei and want to see her and Sandra Izbasa battle it out on floor exercise (uh, Shawn who?). And how can you NOT love that little cutie Jiang Yuyuan? I understand that winning would help these girls provide for their families who have sacrificed so much for them; so it would be kind of cruel to tell them YOU SHOULDN’T WIN BECAUSE YOUR COUNTRY CHEATS…these girls have no control over what the grown-ups are telling them to do.
But ironic, isn’t it, that while they’re trying to bring “honor” to their country the Chinese are going to cheat to do it. As an ethnic Chinese, I’m not surprised at all.
For even a smidgen of fairness’ sake, China shouldn’t be winning any sort of gold in the team, when it’s likely that only Cheng Fei will undoubtedly be past the legal age limit when Beijing rolls around. Not when the USA and Russia keep their juniors at home and China sends He Kexin.
And Yang Yilin got 16.80 for UB.
I think it’s China to lose for the team gold medal.
About this age thing, if China wins, that’s because their girls perform better than the girls from any other country. Fair and square.
I agree wholeheartedly with what you’re saying. If it is indeed true that 5/6 of CHN’s O-Team will be underage (and it likely is), then it would be a real thorn in the paw if they win the team gold when other countries that have fantastic juniors that would bring in sorely needed A scores left said juniors at home because they were following the rules (holy run-on sentence, Batman!).
And it’ll be completely unprovable. I would like to root for China as well as USA, but not if they’re cheating. It’s unfair, plain and simple.
It’s really a shame when girls that wait until they’re the right age, that could possibly be in gold medal contention, are most likely going to be beaten by cheaters. It’s a disgrace and a slap in the face to the entire Olympic spirit.
David,
It’s not “fair and square” if you’re not following the rules and requirements set up by The Powers That Be (TPTB). Plain and simple. Who cares how they perform when 5/6 of the team shouldn’t be competing in the first place?
How is that fair and square, when they’ll have girls on their team that, BY THE RULES don’t belong on it???
How do you know that they are underaged then?
I knew that He Kexin, Li Shanshan, Deng Linlin, Xiao Sha, Yang Yilin, and Sui Lu… all competed at the 2007 Intercity Games in China (for juniors between 1992 to 1994). It is very likely that they were all born in 1992, so they are qualified for this Olympics.
Why do you people insist that they are underaged?
5/6 are underage? Wow, I didn’t know it was THAT bad. Out of curiosity, whom are you talking about and more importantly, how do all of you know this ?!?
And if they are in fact underaged, shouldn’t it be up to the US Gymnastics Association to raise the question to FIG?
I hate to see people going around and making some baseless accuzations. If you have proof, show it; if not, maybe you should just shut up and enjoy the outstanding performances those chinese girls bring to the stage.
Bravo!
How is systematic age falsification any different to systematic doping. Altering the ages of 5 of 6 athletes (6 out of 6 if you count Cheng Fei’s falsification for Athens) is systematic. Systematic cheating.
We all hated on the East German system for doping their athletes. This is the exactly the same thing. The athletes in China aren’t as innocent as we would all like to make out either. There is a photo from 2007 with Cheng Fei blowing out 17 candles on her cake. I am sure she is a smart enough to count her own candles. If she turned 17 in 2007, that means she is actually younger than Nastia Liukin. Disgusting.
It is shameless and not even subtle, particularly in the case of He Kexin. She was borin 1994 even as late as last year. Even ardent Chinese fans were lamenting about how unfortunate it was that she was underage. Suddenley her age has caught up to the difficulty of her bar routine.
If China wants the world to take their Olympic Games seriously, they really need to start playing by the rules. Even anything Cheng Fei does is tainted because she was only 14 in Athens and comes to Beijing with Olympic experience behind her. This is so invaluable at this level.
we need to go back to allowing whoeever is best to compete regardless of age.
i hate to say this but i really think these gymnasts deserves the scores they got. remember china is not known for overscoring their gymnasts unlike the americans.
honestly im kinda irritated already about the age thing. if these gymnasts are really under age, file a complaint not like this all acusations because nothing will happen if you just keep on doing this.
i dont think the usa gymnastic committe are dumb enough to not know all these accusations going on right now.
by the way where did this thing all started, in you tube right? so are you sure that the person who said this is really telling the truth becuase untill now, all the people who are saying they are under age cannot show any evidence or cannot say where did they actually saw the evidence they are accusing. or is this just a tactic to destroy the reputations of these gymnasts. before it was only he kexin now they are even saying all of their gymnasts are under age.
is it because they all competed in the inter city games for the gymnasts who were born on the year 1992- 1994?
first get all your facts before making any accusations.
cheng fei blowing out 17 candles on her cake?haha. wow you really have the talent in counting candles huh. really funny.haha. as if it really convinced us. where’s the picture by the way?haha. you’re so cute. haha
then why not show to the FIG the b day picture of cheng fei?then let them count if it is 17 candles.
well if you make stories try to make it real because you will just look dumb. sorry. hehe it just reallt funny.peace ( :
Its hard to judge though when most of those girls would have been born at home with no documentation of their birth date. Their country doesn’t have consistancy in its paper work for births and deaths (and with 1billion people, most living with minimal technology Im not surprised) and the girls themselves shouldn’t be punished by something that they most likely dont understand.
I love the Chinese girls, they are amazing in their execution and difficulty- something the other countries haven’t quite managed team wide
If/when a complaint is filed with the FIG, what do people seriously think the FIG’s response will be when China produces paperwork that cannot be misproven? Are they going to have He Kexin and the rest of the team carbon dated?
I’ve always felt that if someone was capable of performing at top levels (all ethical crap aside), then they should be allowed to compete despite not having reached a certain age. Yes, the Chinese performances are awesome, but age restrictions have already been established for the games. As far as the people mouthing off about others insisting the Chinese girls are underage, where is your proof that they aren’t? Glad you included that evidence with your post hehe haa, really funny right? I’m not saying they aren’t underage, I just find it so first-grade-ish when people go on and on about how someone hasn’t given evidence of what they’re saying when they don’t provide the proof in their smartypants pudding either. hehe haha
I’ve heard from those who can read Mandarin and frequented the Chinese boards long before now that a goodly portion of the likely contenders for the O-Team are indeed underage and that Cheng Fei is younger than what we’ve originally thought (which would mean that the timing of her growth spurt & puberty and that great burst of skills she gained make that much more sense than it did before). I didn’t think it was so many (and I definitely didn’t think it was Cheng Fei too), but I guess so. But as I said, it’ll be impossible to prove.
It makes no sense because China can field a great and deep enough team without the cheating. Not to mention that given that they’re hosting the Olympics and there are enough critical eyes on them as is, they would be more careful about what they would do.
Nik, nobody is blaming the girls themselves. It’s the system that’s screwed up. The girls have no choice but to play along and that’s not their fault. It was the same with the Soviet and East German blocs and same with the Romanians. I can’t blame Gina Gogean even today for adamantly denying any age falsification.
And I think it is legitimate to raise question or suspicion on the age qualification of some of those chinese girls though. But please, please don’t write as if it were “100% comfirmed” truth.
Also seriously, has anyone raise this question to the US Gymnastics? Let them do some investigation, please. I know, Shawn Johnson’s coach is a chinese, right? I am sure he has the network to get some inside information from China.
David,
I’m sure USAG has already heard the rumblings, but quite honestly, what can they do? Imagine if they tried to do a genuine investigation. They would hit roadblock after roadblock and after awhile, it just wouldn’t be worth it. Plus, you know how the media would portray USAG if they did do an investigation and media image is all-important to USAG.
Hey David, just b/c Johnson’s coach is Chinese doesn’t mean he has the network to get inside info from China. Oh, but wait; I forgot; I bet Chinese officials are just dying to share evidence of their cheating with a former Chinese national who left China for America to coach American girls to hopefully defeat the Chinese!! And if not that, then I bet Cheng Fei and Li Shanshan’s family are just waiting for the right time to declare to Coach Chow and the world that their daughters are underage. Hey David, aren’t you of German descent? I am sure you could get us some inside info from Germany on what Hitler was thinking back in the 40’s. Chop chop.
Of course USAG wouild hit roadblock after roadblock. Duh. At least #14 recognizes that.
I read Chinese and frequent various Chinese gymnastics boards. There are discussions about age issues from time to time, but all posts start with “I heard that…”, “Is it true that…”. They are no more than the word on the street. “ardent Chinese fans lamenting” or “inside news” doesn’t mean anything. I just don’t see why some people take them as “solid proof” and talk as if they were He Kexin or Cheng Fei’s parents?
I’m not positive about the age falsifying thing either. A soviet sport system alone is a good reason for some suspicion. But a guess is a guess. Just feel a little offended by those who bark “systematic cheating” while they are not able to prove it. Please keep your moral supremacy to yourself.
i agree with random summer.
what i dont get is why people assuming that they are 100% sure that the chinese lie. is it also unfair to them that they are being judged without any basis and just mear acusations.
or is this a tactic for other teams like the usa to destroy the reputations of the gymnasts.
if people feel that its unfair to them, do you think it is also unfair to the chinese that they are being accused without any proof?
just dont assume as if you are already 100% sure when all the details you are saying all her says.
just talking about being fair here.
WTF does “when all the details you are saying all her says” mean? Maybe you should be 100% sure what you are trying to say.
Also, if people assume the Chinese are lying, let them alone. People are entitled to their own opinions, and if they’re silly enough to form their opinions or assumptions w/o definitive evidence, that’s their own shortcoming. People raising questions about the Chinese girls’ ages is not necessarily a tactic for other teams like the usa to destroy the reputation of the gymansts. If a question is raised and no rules are being broken, what is the problem? If France or China were to question Shawn Johnson’s age or accuse her of being underage, she’d probably giggle and then whip out her birth certificate. And how does questioning the age destroy the reputation of a gymnast? If anything, that would reflect negatively on who or whatever may have authorized or mandated a possible age falsification. I’m not taking sides, I just think everything should be considered in all fairness and objectivity. If someone thinks the Chinese are lying, then that’s their opinion and they’re entitled to it. If someone wants to prove that person wrong, let’s see some definitive evidence that supports your case. Let’s see some evidence that they ARE telling the truth. And I hope they are. Peace.
Here is the photo. Her birthday celebrations in 2007.
You do the math.
We all get 17 (5 red, 6 blue and 6 yellow)
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll235/chufeng/ChengFeiBdayPic05302007.jpg
That made her 14 in Athens (cheat)
That made her 15 in Melbourne (cheat)
and is certainly impacts on her performance in Beijing. Experience is everything. (cheat)
Celebrate your athletes all you want but denial is just silly. There are plenty of Chinese fans out there who know this age falsification to be true. They don’t deny it but they love their team too much not to stop supporting them. Unstandable but to deny is just ludicrous.
how sure you are that it was taken in 2007?
This whole age debate and issue should be settled, but not on the internet. If there is indeed an age issue and there’s VALID proof then the US Gymnastics Association would have filed a complaint already! It’s because they don’t have REAL proof. So to those of you who really believe that some of the girls on the China team is underage, ask yourself, how EXACTLY did you find out about the age issue? Did you read some internet article? Surf some blog? Read some info in the comments section of Youtube? Or heard from *someone*? If you got it from a genuine source then of course, speak up, reveal the truth and prevent this kind of scandal to ruin the beautiful sport that is gymnastics, but if you don’t have proof then you shouldn’t be accusing anything or complaining about anything because your complains and accusations don’t add anything to the sport of to the Olympics except doubt and pressure for those athletes in question. For the person who started this whole conversation, I’d like to know exactly where you found out that 5/6 members of the Chinese national team is underage? Proof? Where exact did you hear this from? Or see this from? Or collect the information from various sources from? Because if it’s just something that you think? or you and people you know suspect then this whole conversation seems to be built solely on the disappointing demonstration of gossip running wild. But hey, if there is real proof, the truth will come out. Personally I think the Russians have really got a chance because they have always been strong and particularly with the team they will field this year in the Olympics. However, do you think that if the US lost and China won, that the US will not find some way ANY way to figure out and reveal evidence and disqualify the Chinese competitors? Ahhhh go read some history books people!!!