Chinese Gymnasts Too Young To Compete, Web Documents Show - Page 3
[...] The whole reason for age limits in gymnastics is that smaller performers are inherently capable of more difficult flips, flexes, and flimflamadoos than larger ones; their centre of mass is less far from the physical centre of their bodies, allowing them to achieve a higher rate of rotation in gymnastic manoeuvres.
But this shouldn't be surprising when you take into account China's history. They are about the collective, about national unity superceding individual feelings. It doesn't matter if you're tired, injured, hungry, lonely, parentally deprived, or underage, you drag your behind out there and tumble for the pride of your country, and God help you if you don't. A fine attitude for the military, perhaps (taking out the underage part), but hardly conducive to the emotions of young children.
I realize that gymnastics creates athletic girls who, if they rigorously train, can be smaller and leaner and even less developed than their peers, but you can't hide bone structure and baby teeth. There are certain characteristics to the bone structure of children, preteens, teens, and adults, and no amount of passport tampering can change that. Yes, the Chinese gymnasts outperformed our girls (albeit with a few questionable calls). This isn't a case of USA sour grapes. This is a case of wanting peers to compete against peers and following the set rules of the competiton, and when you have children competing who are ineligible because of age then that is clearly against the rules, regardless of talent or skill.
So should China give their gold medal back? Will there be another Olympic scandal on the level of Salé and Pelletier? Thus far, it doesn't seem like the IOC is going to do much of anything. Way to cheapen the Olympic spirit.
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