Chinese Olympic Gymnasts Underage Scandal

Two Chinese Olympic Gymnasts He Kexin and Jiang Yuyuan, who won gold medals in the Beijing 2008 Olympics, may in fact be only 14 years-old, when Olympic gymnasts are required to be 16 years-old. Both were chosen to compete late in July. Younger, and therefore smaller, gymnasts have the advantage of being able to perform difficult skills easier. There is a lot of evidence supporting claims that documents were forged around the time of the Olympics to insure He and Jiang qualified to compete. However, there is a lot of evidence, especially from Chinese government web sites, and statements from government officials confirming the claims these two athletes were under the age of 16. If these accusations are true, it cheapens how the world sees China, and causes a loss of face due to the perception that they cheated their way to gold medals. To encourage the best athletes to compete, it might be best for the Olympic committee to allow any age to compete. Click the link below to read more, and see some of the evidence.

Below are China’s Beijing Olympic Gymastic team (left to right) Cheng Fei, Yang Yilin, Li Shanshan, He Kexin, Jiang Yuyuan and Deng Linlin celebrate their victory during the awarding ceremony for gymnastics artistic women’s team final of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China, Aug. 13, 2008. The Chinese team claimed the title of the event with a score of 188.900.

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