Sources: No Proof Chinese Team Cheated in Gymnastics

We may finally have an answer to a question which has been highly debated since the Summer Olympics began: How old are the Chinese gymnasts and are they old enough to compete? Unfortunately for some, this may not be the answer which was hoped for.

Nastia Liukin, Alicia Sacramone and Shawn Johnson Credit: REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay (GERMANY)

From MSNBC:

Despite persistent questions about the ages of several members of the Chinese women’s gymnastics team that won the gold medal, the International Olympic Committee said Friday there is still no proof anyone cheated and believes the controversy will be “put to rest.”

The IOC asked the International Gymnastics Federation to investigate “what have been a number of questions and apparent discrepancies,” spokeswoman Giselle Davies said. But all of the information the Chinese gymnastics federation has presented so far supports its insistence that its athletes were old enough to compete.

If the federation had found evidence that the gymnasts were underage, it could have affected four of China’s medals. In addition to the team gold and He Kexin’s gold on bars, Yang Yilin won bronze medals in the all-around and uneven bars.

Chinese coach Lu Shanzhen told The Associated Press they gave the FIG new documents on Thursday to try to remove any doubts about He’s age, including an old passport, residency card and her current ID card.

It has been an interesting time at the Olympics for the Chinese gymnastics team. Internet records and media reports suggest three Chinese gymnasts might be as young as 14. A gymnast must be 16 years old in an Olympic year to compete at the games. But questions about the ages of at least three of the athletes have persisted. I cannot say for certain if any of the gymnasts are underage. But after reading the media reports, and seeing the gymnasts on television, I have a hard time believing that a few of them are 16 years of age. Thoughts?

He Defeats Liukin on Uneven Bars

China’s He Kexin won a controversial tiebreaker over all-around champion Nastia Liukin of the United States for the uneven bars gold medal today at the Olympics. The bronze went to China’s Yang Yilin, her third medal, including bronze in the all-around.

From the Associated Press:

Both scored 16.725, but He got the nod because her execution marks were closer to a perfect 10 than Liukin’s.

Liukin would not criticize the scoring system that does not award dual gold medals.

“It’s nothing I can control, and honestly, I can say it has been very fair to me, and I got the biggest gold medal of them all,” said Liukin, winner of the women’s all-around gymnastics gold.

He, at the center of an age-eligibility controversy throughout the games, was fast and furious on the bars. Her twists and flips went by in the blink of an eye, and she won by about that short a margin.

Credit: Smiley N. Pool Chronicle

The US Women’s Gymnastics team has had a fabulous 2008 Summer Olympics. With individual medals won by Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin and the team consisting of Alicia Sacramone and Chellsie Memmel, the team should be very happy with their results this year and looking forward to London in 2012. Thoughts?