The Olympics' age-old problem

By Dan Wetzel | Yahoo! Sports via UNCENSORED Yahoo! News
August 15, 2008

For a long time, elements of the Chinese government itself thought women's gymnast He Kexin was born Jan. 1, 1994, which would make her 14 and too young to compete in these Summer Olympics.

Whether it was repeated mentions in the government-controlled media - including a new one uncovered Friday by the Associated Press - or on official gymnastic meet registration forms and websites, He was "this little girl" and a "new star."

As recently as December 2007, in provincial gymnastics meets and news reports that covered it, she was a 13-year-old prodigy, too young for the 16-year-old Olympic age limit for gymnastics.

Then, suddenly, she wasn't.

Earlier this year China produced her passport that claimed she was born Jan. 1, 1992, making her old enough to perform a brilliant uneven bar routine and push China to the women's all around gold medal.

The Chinese either got it wrong in 2007 or wrong in 2008. Considering 2000 Chinese bronze medalist Yang Yun later admitted on state television she was 14 that year, the reported ages of He Kexin and at least two of her teammates have aroused suspicion in nearly everyone except the powers that be - the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Both organizations accepted the new passport as fact, certified He and tried to cover their collective ears at all the complaints. Wednesday, the IOC even slipped a gold medal around He Kexin's neck.

If the IOC had a modicum of decency and courage (don't count on it), it would open an immediate investigation into whether it might take that medal right back.

If not for the of-age gymnasts who lost to the Chinese, then for He and her diminutive teammates, who - if they actually are old enough - don't deserve suspicion tainting their accomplishment.

While the IOC undoubtedly is petrified of humiliating the host country in such a scandal, doing nothing merely humiliates the IOC and continues the belief that the organization is about money, not fair play.

For its part, the Chinese gymnastics delegation told the AP that the mistake was made by the media and provincial officials, not on the passport. Everything is on the up and up.

"It's definitely a mistake," Zhang Hongliang told the AP. "Never has any media outlet called me to check the athletes' ages.

"We already explained this very clearly," Zhang said. "There's no need to discuss this thing again."

Oh, but there is. The age of the Chinese gymnasts has overwhelmed the women's gymnastics competition.

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