The Olympics

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer...ory?id=3534544

Chinese state media reported He's age earlier this year as 13.

So, basically, yeah - they're cheating.

Color me shocked.

I love watching the olympics... but the closest i'm going to ever get to it is through tv and sports clipart.

Originally Posted by Augusto86

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http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer...ory?id=3534544

Chinese state media reported He's age earlier this year as 13.

So, basically, yeah - they're cheating.

Color me shocked.

The same Chinese state media that everyone believes is completely untrustworthy?

Good enough for me!

lefty

Originally Posted by GTR

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Like the way Eamon Sullivan and Stephanie Rice went from unknowns to smashing world records at Olympic qualification championships? You really strengthened your argument referencing BALCO, an American doping affair involving atheletes in MLB, NFL and US track and field among others.
Sir you are sadly mistaken. Eamon Sullivan has been around on the international scene ever since his debut at the 2004 Athens games as part of a relay. Stephanie Rice ever since winning the 200im at the Commonwealth games in 2006. They have done exceptionally well in meets afterwards. Before you listen to Bob Costas who is reputable or not, I recommend you sticking around with the sport for a while. Why not? The Chinese Olympic/ Chinese Swimming Federation has sponsored this before. They are both institutions which have been accused/found guilty before. Just like BALCO.

wouldn't you think that there would be a DNA test to determine a person's real age? it seems like that would put an end to this discussion of the Chinese gymnasts ages. it's the freakin' gymnastics governing body that doesn't want to regulate itself. like an NPR segment mentioned yesterday, they could change everything by focusing more on the artistic elements of gymnastics instead of the technical elements.

i was listening to a sports radio show the other day and they talked about how a doctor said that there was no way these gymnasts could be older than 13 or 14 because they were still growing teeth!


-Jeff

FWIW, I believe age shouldn't matter when competing in ANY sport for the Olympic Games.

The Olympics is the place the best of the best compete. If someone young happens to be one of the best, then put them in there.

I mean, Nadia Comaneci was only 14 when she wowed the world with perfect 10's back in the 1976 games.

And then you have the example of swimmer Amanda Beard, only 14 when she won a gold and two silvers at the 1996 games.

Let them compete.

As for the gymnasts' ages- I have a friend here in LA that was a competetive gymnast in the early 80's. She moved away from home and trained with high powered coaches from an early age, and she was given hormones to delay puberty - she said they were all given these drugs. There are other things besides chronological age that can make these girls look young.

Originally Posted by lefty

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If there's proof, by all means present it. But for a coach to go on national TV and whine that his team lost, not because his athletes fell of the apparatus or stepped out of bounds, but rather because the winners must have cheated seems the height of pissy unsportsmanlike behavior.

Originally Posted by lefty

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I imagine if there was more and hard evidence it would be presented by US Gymnastics. Maybe it will be soon.

Originally Posted by lefty

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The same Chinese state media that everyone believes is completely untrustworthy?

Lefty, your ability to play both sides of this thing has me in awe.

You manage to simultaneously want Karolyi to shut up while you want US gymnastics to present its case.

You also simultaneously want to deride the Chinese media (whose stories on this have now been redacted, blocked, or otherwise rendered inaccessible) while believing in the agency that issued these passports.

Look, I honestly don't give a crap. I could give two sh*ts about gymnastics. I frankly don't even understand why there's a rule about how old you have to be to jump up and down and do some somersaults. In most other sports, experience matters more than anything else. The fact that pure diminutiveness of height could make such a difference in what is supposedly a world-class sport diminishes the sport in my eyes. Frankly, it's kind of funny that the US got beat by a bunch of "little girls." The Chinese were better, and I can live with that.

But your steadfast refusal to consider any of the facts of the case is a bit off-putting. It will obviously never be proven otherwise. But OJ wasn't found guilty in a court of law, either.

Originally Posted by SenorMatador

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Sir you are sadly mistaken. Eamon Sullivan has been around on the international scene ever since his debut at the 2004 Athens games as part of a relay. Stephanie Rice ever since winning the 200im at the Commonwealth games in 2006. They have done exceptionally well in meets afterwards.

Rice was slower than 4:40 in the 400 IM a year ago - she dropped ELEVEN seconds in one year. Who is her coach, and which other swimmers has s/he produced if it's the coaching? What is she doing in the pool that is so much better than every other swimmer? Why hasn't anyone else dropped that much time in a year?

It's possible that she's clean, but I think we need to be able to answer these questions definitively if we're going to clear her of any suspicion. Same with Sullivan.

Originally Posted by Renault78law

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I found it surprising that some male swimmers in the Olympics don't bother to wear a cap.

There was even one guy with a beard, but he was a backstroker so I guess it doesn't matter.

Originally Posted by JammieDodger

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Regarding tennis, I think it's a much more exciting sport when played with traditional tennis racquets. It's fine when it's accessible to everyone, but I don't think these speedo suits are.

The LZR suit is on the Speedo website - available in October for $550. I'm just waiting to see club team and high school kids showing up in these.

Originally Posted by Douglas

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Lefty, your ability to play both sides of this thing has me in awe.

Thanks you, Sir.

In real life I play a rational man, but this is the internets, baby.

Originally Posted by Douglas

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You manage to simultaneously want Karolyi to shut up while you want US gymnastics to present its case.

No. I thought Karolyi was out of line to blame the loss on "cheaters" ignoring the fact that his athletes fell off the apparatus - something that happens to the best. I also think it would be real shame if the US girls came away from the games not taking responsibility for their loss. I believe the girl who fell is taking it hard, as she should.

If you have proof, pursue it through the appropriate channels. Again, I was simply taken aback at how Karolyi, as an official representative is US gymnastics, was publicly whining. Were I in charge of the organization I would make him apologise.

Originally Posted by Douglas

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You also simultaneously want to deride the Chinese media (whose stories on this have now been redacted, blocked, or otherwise rendered inaccessible) while believing in the agency that issued these passports.

That was a sarcastic exclamation point. Pointing out that the Chinese government can't be trusted over this passport issue is one thing, but using an article from their journalistic arm as proof of their duplicity seems mostly ridiculous.

Originally Posted by Douglas

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Look, I honestly don't give a crap. I could give two sh*ts about gymnastics. I frankly don't even understand why there's a rule about how old you have to be to jump up and down and do some somersaults. In most other sports, experience matters more than anything else. The fact that pure diminutiveness of height could make such a difference in what is supposedly a world-class sport diminishes the sport in my eyes. Frankly, it's kind of funny that the US got beat by a bunch of "little girls." The Chinese were better, and I can live with that.

Me too.

Originally Posted by Douglas

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But your steadfast refusal to consider any of the facts of the case is a bit off-putting. It will obviously never be proven otherwise. But OJ wasn't found guilty in a court of law, either.

I'm still waiting for the facts. if you find some, I would forward them to the IOC.

For what it's worth, if some official from the French swimming team started shouting that Phelps was shoving Dbol up his ass, I would say the same thing, or in that case, le prouver.

But I would say it with a way cooler accent.

lefty

Phelps is a machine.

I can't watch gymnastics. Too many dirty thoughts run through my mind.

Originally Posted by SenorMatador

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FWIW, I believe age shouldn't matter when competing in ANY sport for the Olympic Games. The Olympics is the place the best of the best compete. If someone young happens to be one of the best, then put them in there.

Originally Posted by Douglas

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Look, I honestly don't give a crap. I could give two sh*ts about gymnastics. I frankly don't even understand why there's a rule about how old you have to be to jump up and down and do some somersaults. In most other sports, experience matters more than anything else.
There are ethical issues to consider (for instance, how likely is it that a fourteen-year-old swimmer could fracture a growth plate?), but really it's pretty simple. Very young teens have greater strength-to-weight ratios than older teens and young adults. On top of this, they weigh significantly less. (When you're trying to land on a four-inch balance beam without wobbling, every pound matters.) Other than injuries, why else do you think most gymnasts have such short careers? Because when they're older they can't compete with the younger girls. And besides, it's a sport. All rules in sports are more or less arbitrary. But all competitors must abide by them, or it isn't much of a sport. If the Chinese are cheating, and it seems they are, they should be stripped of their gold medals and their coach should keep his promise to leap off a building. On a related note, what the hell was up with some of those balance beam scores? That one Chinese girl turned in a pretty lousy performance, full of bobbles, and scored higher than Shawn Johnson, who had one or two at most.

Originally Posted by Connemara

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I can't watch gymnastics. Too many dirty thoughts run through my mind.

Men or women's? Wait, stupid question....