THE OLYMPIC Games have long been associated with scandal. From judge bribing to doping controversies to equipment malfunctions, the Olympic Games have seen it all. Although the 2008 Olympics have been home to many great moments, from Michael Phelps’ record eight gold medals to Nastia Liukins’ all-around individual gold, they have also been home to a hushed scandal: age falsification.
For many of the almost 30 million viewers of the women’s team gymnastics final, it was shocking to the see the “women” on the Chinese team. Although the age limit for gymnastics is 16, several of the girls appeared significantly younger. One girl, He Kexin, was just 4-feet, 8-inches tall and weighed 72 pounds. Another girl, Deng Linlin, weighed just 68 pounds. One girl was even missing teeth.
But appearances don’t tell the full story. The more important evidence of age tampering is the online records of the gymnasts’ ages before the Olympics started. The New York Times found two official registration lists of Chinese gymnasts that list He Kexin’s birthday as January 1, 1994, making her 14. A 2007 national registry of Chinese gymnasts, now blocked in China but viewable through Google cache, shows the same 1994 birthday for He Kexin. Add these records to the fact that He Kexin’s passport was issued on February 14, 2008, just six months before the Olympic Games, and it all seems a bit suspicious.
This issue, however, is not all that surprising. As the Huffington Post notes, at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Chinese gymnast Yang Yun also had a passport that said she was turning 16 in the year of the Games. She later confessed in a television interview that she was only 14 at the time of the competition and that she and her coaches had lied about her age so that she could compete.
Despite the questions and controversy surrounding the Chinese gymnasts, the International Olympics Committee has refused to investigate the allegations further, approving the age of China’s gymnasts based on their China-issued papers. Although the IOC has taken cheating issues, particularly doping, seriously in the past, this scandal has been simply brushed under the table.
When I began researching this issue, I saw comments on articles on Sports Illustrated’s Web site by individuals who thought this controversy was just a case of poor sportsmanship on the American side. Some thought this controversy was more about politics than athletics and others thought the age limit should be lowered if these young girls are the best anyway. But what none of these individuals realize is the full impact of a scandal like this. Unlike doping, which usually involves individual athletes and their coaches, this involves an entire country. When athletes are able to get passports falsified by government officials and newspaper articles pulled off the Web, cheating becomes not only allowed but legitimized. When a federation or government is involved, a case of lying becomes institutionalized cheating. This is not only a more serious form of cheating, but it also opens the door for other countries to do the same in the future. Winning becomes more important than rules, and the image of the country becomes more important than the health of the girls.
The age limit was instituted for a reason: to protect the athletes. In terms of mental health, it is extremely difficult to put Olympic expectations on a 14 year old in a sport where a single mistake can crush medal dreams in a moment. Unlike sports like swimming or track and field where you just may not be fast enough, gymnasts are scrutinized individually and subjectively. The emotional maturity of a 14 year old is just not the same as someone at 16.
Physically, the age limit is also important. For young athletes, their bones are still growing. While swimmers have the cushion of water on their joints and bones and therefore have longer lives as athletes, gymnasts are completing very dangerous tricks that can seriously harm their growing bodies. The older an athlete is, the safer they are with more developed bodies.
Even these reasons, however, don’t touch on the fairness of this rule. Simply put, younger, smaller athletes have an advantage in tumbling and flips. Ice skating shares the same age limit because less developed skaters can use their smaller hips to do more spins than skaters with fully developed bodies. Many have argued that gymnasts like Nadia Comaneci were 14 when they won gold at the Olympics, but when you compare the gymnastics of their time with the gymnastics of today, there is a huge difference in the danger and difficulty level of the routines.
The Olympic Games have always encouraged competition among nations. Competition, however, should never drive a nation to put their ethics and concern for athletes behind a medal count. This is not about poor sportsmanship. This is about fair play.
Lindsay Huggins is a Cavalier Daily Opinion editor. She can be reached at lhuggins@cavalierdaily.com.
Read More
WILLIAMS: From deepfakes to ChatGPT, AI can ruin us
By Ryan Williams | 2 days agoIt is crucial for us to reevaluate our personal reliance on AI and begin understanding how it acts as a problematic shortcut.
ELJAZZAR: Advising changes are a step toward student success
By Farah Eljazzar | December 10, 2024With the long history of student complaints regarding advising in the College, it is commendable that the University administration is committed to responding to student concerns and prioritizing student academic well-being.
BRUNMAN: Stop ghosting us, Governor Youngkin
By Wylie Brunman | December 8, 2024For the sake of students — and the Governor — his state administration should rethink its stance on this meeting and its approach to interacting with students more broadly.
