IOC will investigate ages of China's gymnastic team The International Olympic Committee is investigating whether the Chinese women's gymnastics team, which has won numerous medals, has underage athletes on it, saying "more information has come to light."Commentsview comments in forum Page 1 2 You need to be a member of CKA and be logged into the site, to comment on news. |
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"nothing to see, move along"
It is funny (sarcasm intented) to see, that we hardly heard of the Chinese gymnasts before, and all of a sudden, they win medal after medal...
Makes me wonder... did they take the kids out of their homes and put them in a training camp at the moment it was clear Bejing was going to host the 2008 Olympics?
I think they should investigate the women (?!?!) divers too... There are some pretty young Chinese girls there.
I haven't done much reading about this subject, but I think the Gymnastics are a special case. The Gymnastics federation has the 16 years old rule, not the IOC, but the Gymnastics federation rules are in effect at the Olympics. So a 14 year old may be able to dive but not do gymnasics at the olympics.
Makes me wonder... did they take the kids out of their homes and put them in a training camp at the moment it was clear Bejing was going to host the 2008 Olympics?
I wouldn't doubt it.
- Bobsled (minimum of 14 years old)
- Boxing (17-32)
- Diving (minimum of 14)
- Equestrian (16 or older)
- Figure skating (15 by July 1 of previous year)
- Gymnastics (must be 16 years old in Olympic year)
- Judo (15 or older), luge (16 or older)
- Soccer (under 23)
- Team handball (over 18)
- Weightlifting (17 or older)
- Wrestling (must be at least 17 on day of Opening Ceremonies).
I think they should investigate the women (?!?!) divers too... There are some pretty young Chinese girls there.
It is funny (sarcasm intented) to see, that we hardly heard of the Chinese gymnasts before, and all of a sudden, they win medal after medal...
Makes me wonder... did they take the kids out of their homes and put them in a training camp at the moment it was clear Bejing was going to host the 2008 Olympics?
The Chinese are perenially a diving power. Most of their divers are ranked highly in international rankings and competitions. That they swept the diving medals is no surprise really. Still, that 62 pound girl diving in the 10m competition looked like she was 7 or 8...
The Chinese use a model similar to the old Soviet system. Potential star athletes are identified at a very young age (as young as 4) and then they are shipped off to training academies to live and train full time. When they reach adulthood, athletes are paid by the Chinese government (again like the Soviets used to do by putting them in the army). Their sole focus is to get to the Olympics and win. When they get a gold medal, the government pays them something like $50,000 US. Like Hyack said in another thread, it's almost like a factory.
Of course, China also has a population advantage. Where Canada has 30 million people, they probably have 30 million athletes...
the past three years, was set aside to look after the
needs of IOC "nudge-wink" officials who would investigate
any possible rule-breaking by the host nation.
Really adds up.
No problems will be found.
Nudge.
Wink.
Like Hyack said in another thread, it's almost like a factory
Damn, I did say almost didn't I...BULL ...it is a freakin' factory:
This assembly line of pain at the Weilun Sports School in China's southern Guangdong province asks an extraordinary amount from its 1,000 full-time students. Here, in the cavernous gymnastics classroom, the girls are drilled again and again as if they were in competition, with judges monitoring their frozen smiles. They must not show weakness, no matter how grueling the exercise. "Big smile, little friend," yells Yang as the girls go through 50 reps of leg kicks with weights tied to their calves. Yang's wife, also a coach, observes: "Maybe to foreigners, this looks cruel. But it's because we start kids very young and train them hard that we have become so successful in gymnastics." Says her husband, who has been coaching since 1983: "The Chinese race knows how to endure hardship. Our job is to push these kids to their limits, so they can perform gloriously for our nation." Behind him on the wall, below oversized Olympic and Chinese flags, giant red lettering summarizes the motto of the Weilun school, proud breeding ground of eight athletes at this month's Athens Olympics: "Patriotism, Unity, Struggle and Devotion."
The Price of Gold
wow, whoda thunk thats possible ??
im so shocked
I used to be a gymnast, and I started at age 4. Trained 20 hours a week, I have cried lots, we did our jumps on a bare cement floor, because we lacked the jumping floor they have nowadays. I've fallen off the beam many a time, hurt my knees on the bars, and fell flat on my ass (or worse)...
It IS tough, it is painful (as is every top sport), but this is ridiculous. I am glad I wasn't as trained as these girls, (or as... overworked?) and that for me, it was fun. No Olympics for me, lots of games though, and a lot of fun.
China, SHAME ON YOU!
Competition rules of certain international federations cite age limits as follows:
- Bobsled (minimum of 14 years old)
- Boxing (17-32)
- Diving (minimum of 14)
- Equestrian (16 or older)
- Figure skating (15 by July 1 of previous year)
- Gymnastics (must be 16 years old in Olympic year)
- Judo (15 or older), luge (16 or older)
- Soccer (under 23)
- Team handball (over 18)
- Weightlifting (17 or older)
- Wrestling (must be at least 17 on day of Opening Ceremonies).
Is that in horse years?