http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20 ... re-16.html what are your thoughts on this? i think china is going to look very bad after this.. i mean, they issued fake passports!! that's crazy
I don't understand the 16 age requirement to begin with. Other sports can have competitors much younger than 16, why not gymnastics? I also don't like the attitude of countries like the US towards the Olympics. First they start complaining about the judging system in gymnastics and how the rules "aren't fair" and "don't make sense". Then all of a sudden, they start complaining the lack of enforcement of another rule that has nothing to do with the performance of the best athletes in the world. You don't see the American gymnasts complaining about their competitors age because it doesn't matter to an athlete. An true athlete competes, regardless of who his/her opponent is, and wins/loses regardless of the opponent. The Olympics is about the best athletes from each country competing to be the best. If Shawn Johnson or Nastia Liukin lost to a 12 year old gymnast, do you think they would deserve or think they deserved the title of world best? I think that some people are overly obsessed with the number of medals, and not the worth/story behind them.
The age requirement is their to protect the younger athletes bone structure, because in Gymnastics the younger you are the less bones you have, and the more flexible and nimble you become.
well, i would be annoy if they fake age to be older? 16, but actually 20 or something. but younger? i dont see what's wrong with that. i would be a shame if lost against 12 yr old kid. lol
Um, just because you don't let an athlete compete in the Olympics doesn't mean they won't compete in the sport. There are plenty of gymnasts under the age of 16.
I actually never really considered that, the only 2 counter arguments I can make are, What about their emotional maturity, and the ability of them to handle such pressure? What about how much harder they are forced to train for the Olympic's?
I thought those little gymnasts seemed pretty young. I really dont see the big deal though, I think they should be able to send in any age. But rules are rules.
I agree with that 100%. It seems the US is trying to turn their country against China. I heard from a friend who was watching the Olympics on a US channel (I'm in Canada) that the dictators were often claiming the judging was unfair, and cheating and whatever. So basically seems like US is trying to give China a reputation of cheating and such. Sure, they do deserve it because of all the underage topics, but... yeah. Back to what Zer0 said.
Even though just about everyone now knows that those girls were underage, there's really not much we can do about it. No matter what, China will keep insisting those girls are of age. >: But I do kinda pity those poor girls. Their medal(s?) will always be underrated now, and instead of being praised, they'll be looked down on because of what their government (most likely) forced them to do.
Underrated? Quite the contrary IMO. If you can get an Olympic medal at that age, it just means that you truly are the worlds best, even if it was done against the rules.
*had to go check and see if she accidentally used a word incorrectly* I do agree with that, Zer0. Just that some people might not. Such as 'if you can't win it from playing by the rules, then you don't deserve it'. They should be proud of their talent and their victory over other people that have had more years of practice then they did.
I think the age restriction is because of the fact gymnastics is a dangerous sport with high risk of injury and Im assuming the olympic comittee wants athletes slightly older for this reason
But that doesn't stop the athletes from practicing gymnastics nor from competing in other competitions like the Worlds.
Yes, but if she gets severely hurt, the olympics does not have to worry about liability for it. If it's a kid who gets hurt in the olympics, it only makes it so much more dramatic in terms of the media. They also have this age restriction on bob-sledding I believe. And in this sport, a younger age isn't likely to benefit the athletes in any way. For gymnasts, the weight factor comes into play, but in bob-sledding the age restriction is there, even though no one really seems to benefit from it in terms of the competition. Basically this lets Olympic organizers avoid drama having to deal with 11 year olds who get injured during high-risk activities. The issue wouldn't be that they would still be practicing the sport, they just don't want it to be their problem.
You sum'd up everything I was thinking. And I would like to ask, when did people 16 have less bones than someone 18. I understand if they were disabled, or something, but that actually doesnt make much since. Given the extra years the adult would have, it would be quite possible the adult is more flexible. Two years of training would make anyone more flexible.
Isn't there a British diver who completed in Beijing 2008? I forget his name, but he was 14, best diver in Britain but didn't score a medal in the Olympics.
Because of those underage chinese athletes, Romania got the worst result in Olympics since Nadia Comaneci. Oh and Nadia Comaneci's couch was training the American team athletes. I estimate by the current rate of degradation my country will disappear in like 200-300 years. Even the Bulgarians are in front of us.