October 2, 2008 - Surely there are a lot of Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin fans who were secretly hoping the investigation into the ages of the Chinese gymnasts would result in the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Team being elevated to gold medalists.
The AP reported, however, that the age dispute has been resolved for the Beijing Games and the ruling backs the Chinese gymnasts. International gymnastics officials on Wednesday closed their 5 1/2 -week investigation into the ages of the Chinese gymnasts at the Beijing Olympics, saying the documentation provided confirms they were old enough to compete.
It seems little girls grow up quickly these days, especially if they’re Chinese gymnasts. One day they’re just 14, the next day they’re 16.
The Chinese will tell you that Asian gymnasts are naturally smaller. There are no scientific tests that can tell age with perfect accuracy. So real proof has to come from official government documents. And official government documents say they are 16. Case closed.
Controversy has raged because younger gymnasts are considered to have an advantage - they are more flexible and are likely to have an easier time doing the tough skills the sport requires. They also aren’t as likely to have a history of injuries or fear of failure.
While China’s 2008 gold medal gymnasts are in the clear, the team that won the bronze medal eight years ago in Sydney, however, still faces questions. Two members of the 2000 squad—Dong Fangxiao and Yang Yun—remain under scrutiny.
For now, there won’t be any medals returned, or any suspensions announced. No one will be punished for breaking the rules. And Olympic officials won’t have to embarrass the Chinese, who just spent billions of dollars to host an extravaganza on their behalf.
It’s not like the same government that faked multiple aspects of the opening ceremony to make sure everything went according to script would give themselves an unfair advantage during the actual competition.
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