Beijing Beat: Age Discrimination in Gymnastics
There’s been much hoopla over whether or not the female Chinese gymnasts —who won the gold medal in the team competition last night—are of age.
Writes NBC News: “Yang Yilin, a medal contender in the all-around and uneven bars, was born Aug. 26, 1993, according to the 2004, 2005 and 2006 registration lists previously posted on the Web site of the General Administration of Sport of China. That would make Yang only 15 later this month. Gymnasts have to be 16 during the Olympic year to be eligible for the games.”
Two other gymnasts on the team might be too young to compete: Yang Yili and He Kexin, both medal contenders.
The LA Times quotes the Chinese coach, claiming that at 13 He Kexin was ready to compete in an event in 2007 where the age limit could only be between 13 and 15 years of age.
Though many will cry “uncle” over China’s alleged unfair advantage, the truth is that the Chinese team’s routines are so much harder, they started out two points ahead before executing a single flip.
The rumors have caused outspoken U.S. coach, Bela Karolyi, to unleash a series of humorous invectives against the Chinese team. He called the teeny tiny gymnasts, “half people,” and said, “”These people think we are stupid.” He pointed out that trusting the passport information coming from an authoritarian government is laughable, as they can change whatever they want to fit their needs.
Though Karolyi’s method of objection isn’t exactly elegant, his point is correct. Pitting lean, young, fit 13 and 14 year-olds, who are up to 30 pounds lighter than their 17-year old battle-scarred competitors is not fair, and gives them a distinct advantage—one, that he argues, they don’t even need to use because they have a fair number of of-age competitors who could cream the U.S.. Then, there is the psychological advantage. The younger you are the less self-doubt creeps in; the less you “psych” yourself out. This is a huge factor in gymnastics. Physically, these gymnasts have done these routines and practiced these repetitions so many times they could have done them in their sleep. It’s their minds that get in the way.
Ten years ago, the age issue wasn’t even a matter of contention. Nadia Comaneci was 14 when she stunned the world with seven perfect tens in Montreal ‘76. American gymnast Dominique Moceanu won the national All Around title in 1995 when she was just 13 and 1/2, but after a series of hang-wringing books and articles about the exploitation of little girls in gymnastics, the F.I.G, decided to put the “women” back in women’s gymastics and implemented the age requirement—to compete in an Olympics, a gymnast must turn 16 the year of the Games.
This has caused all sorts of problems. On the one hand, with no age requirement, the sport could have devolved into an event featuring nothing but 11 and 12 year olds. On the other hand, instating an age requirement significantly narrows the window of time that a gymnast has to compete at her peak. In gymnastics, the Olympics are the pinnacle, and if a gymnast peaks at 14 or 15, she might not ever squeak into a Games.
There is also the mean spectre of puberty; because many of these gymnasts are training 8 or 10 hours a day, the onset of puberty is delayed often until they are 15 or 16. Kristie Phillips, once touted as the next Mary Lou, saw puberty kill her Olympic dreams with a few inches and extra pounds. Phillips attempted a comeback nearly 10 years later, at the age of 27. She didn’t do half-bad, either.
Curiously, one option that is not discussed is including the Juniors, in a scaled-down version of competition at the Olympics. There are Junior World Championships, so why not an Olympic competition for them, too? An Olympian is an Olympian, after all.
There is a flip side to all of this: German team member, Russian Oksana Chusovitina. She is considered one of the medal contenders for the vault, and is competing in her fifth Olympics at the age of 33. And, she’s a mom.
Two videos: One from her vaulting at this year’s World Cup finals where she took the gold in the vault and her 18 years ago at a Russia in a regional competition.
Oksana Chusovitina 2008 World Cup Doha Finals VT
Oksana Chusovitina vault 1990 USSR vs the World
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So–is it cheating or is it age discrimination?
I agree with this article on one point: an Olympian is an Olympian. If Michael Phelps with massive arms and super-long torso that is unmatchable by any other person can compete, and if Dara Torres 41 if age who completes against people half her age can compete, then anyone who qualifies in the Olympics can compete. These Chinese girls are undoubtedly very talented. They deserve the gold medal because after all, they earned it. I am curious- if age 13 and 14 are the competitor’s pinnacle ages in gymnastics or whatever, then isn’t that more reason to release the 16 yr age limit??
Anyways, I am just really disappointed at what many Americans are saying about these Chinese girls (that they look younger than 16 and they should be disqualified). Because one, we are the ones that fight against discrimination, and saying that “rules are rules, no matter what it is” just embarrasses me. Two, Asian people look young. Period. I personally know an Chinese girl that is 22 and looks 12- so what? And three, Olympics is not meant to be fair. Some people are meant to win medals at certain events and others not due to physical differences, which are linked to their nationality. Africans are fast in running, Chinese are flexible and accurate in details (gymnastics and diving), and Americans are wonderful in swimming and Basketball. Let these Chinese girls take their gold medals in peace.
are you kidding? It’s not based on how they look, it’s because the Chinese are misrepresenting her. Journalists have noted many times how they originally published an article stating He’s age as 13, and then they “correct” it later. Why are they getting it wrong in the first place? um, they’re not!!! The government is misrepresenting her age, and as the article above indicates, the younger the gymnast, the better the advantage. Gymnastics is not just about doing the tricks and routines, it’s also about how it looks. Shawn Johnson, because of her body type, was at a disadvantage, as are any of the other competitors who have “blossomed.” The rules are agreed to by all of the nations, so everyone should have to abide by them.
Linda,I agree with you 100%. Yes,they do look young, but so does Shawn Johnson. But these girls look like kids. My 10 year old niece look like them. It’s crazy how you said an Olympian is and Olympian, but Tommie Smith and John Carlos got stripped from there medals. They won fair and square, but because of a fist they’re not in Olympic history. But that’s another story. And of course their passports are going to say that their 16, because the Chinese government gives them out. And yes, certain people are meant to win medals, but that has nothing to do with age. I think the age was raised, because of the type of hours they work. At age 16, you can emancipate and work full time. I don’t think they don’t want to put that much pressure on a 13 year old (or younger). Rules are rules.
But if they are of age, congrats to them. Well deserved.
Please! If the U.S. had CHEATED, you and just about everyone would be calling for the medals to be stripped. Somehow it’s OK for the Chinese to cheat and still win medals for their cheating? Sorry, but they did not “legitimately” win. In order to “legitimately” win, the girls would have had to follow the rules. Due to those rules, they wouldn’t have even been able to complete. Hence, no medals and no controversy. Since when is it OK to reward lying and cheating? I guess in YOUR WORLD it’s fine, but sports should be HONEST and competition should be FAIR. There was no legitimate win and the Olympic Committee MUST investigate fully and take corrective action. This is NO different than athletes agreeing to be drug-free and then doping. In fact, this is worse since it’s a deception backed by a government. Come on, People, let’s stop accepting dishonesty and cheating, especially in someething as important as the Olympic games are to athletes around the world.
This is a pretty good collection of all the evidence against He and the Chinese team:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....18842.html
I think age matters a lot. That’s why the Chinese did not play fair. You’ll see that 4 years from now none of the gymnasts in the current Chinese team will compete in the Olympics. They will not be good enough. Look at Cheng Fei. She was a star a while ago. But as she got older (she’s now 20) she had more crashes (fell on the floor, vault, beam and bars). So let’s not pretend age does not matter. Age matters. How one copes with pressure plays a huge role in winning. The Chinese team cheated. And that’s why they are losers all the way. Sorry.