IOC orders investigation into He Kexin's age

[WoodysGirl]

By Chris Chase

The International Olympic Committee has ordered an investigation into the age of Chinese gymnast He Kexin, The Times of London reports. Faced with almost insurmountable evidence which suggests that He is two years younger than the birth date listed on her Chinese passport, the IOC has launched an inquiry that could result in the stripping of He's gold medals.

This news comes on the heels of another Times report that details the findings of a New York computer security expert who found official Chinese documents that list He's age as 14 years and 220 days. Mike Walker used a Chinese search engine's cache feature to find He's actual date of birth on spreadsheets from a Chinese government website. The spreadsheets were taken down off the site recently and He's name had been removed.

Assuming the IOC is committed to a real investigation and not some dog and pony show, the revelation that the Chinese government covered up the ages of gymnasts could end up being the defining moment of these Games for the host country. Officials wanted the Olympics to be a coming out party for a new China. But while the Games have been a huge success, there is a legitimate possibility that China's legacy from Beijing '08 will be that of a massive government cover-up, not the magical Opening Ceremony or the transformation of Beijing or anything else positive.

All the good work China did to put on these Olympics could be forgotten because of an unnecessary, arrogant move by the government. Why risk everything to put a 14-year old in the competition when they could have replaced her with an of-age 16-year old gymnast? Sure, He is a better gymnast than the Chinese gymnasts who were eligible to compete, but with the judges they had at the Olympics, would it really have mattered?

 

[Yeagermeister]

They need to investigate more than just one of them. That whole team looked too young.

 

[DallasFanSince86]

They need to investigate more than just one of them. That whole team looked too young.

No kidding.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

This is hilarious, the IOC investigating anything will likely turn up nothing unless it wants to find something. I am not convinced the IOC wants to find anything.

You know China will now say, we want proof Shawn Johnson is 16 because she looks young, is only 4'9 etc. Then when they are shown a birth certificate, will claim it is fake etc

I'm just shocked that guy had nothing better to do with his time than searching Chinese search engines to get evidence someone was too young.

 

[burmafrd]

There are rules that currently must be observed and one of them is age. Now you could argue it should not matter, and many, including Bela Karoly, say it should not. BUT if you are going to have the rules you should enforce them. Only a real dunce could not question the ages of the chinese gymnasts.
Especially since even official chinese newspapers had indicated they were too young in stories some time ago.
Love how libs will scream about how you need to follow the rules in only SELECTIVE cases.

 

[Hostile]

The IOC after a 12 hour search has ended its inquiry and upheld her age as 16.

They got scammed. No way is that girl 16.

 

[Yeagermeister]

The IOC after a 12 hour search has ended its inquiry and upheld her age as 16.

They got scammed. No way is that girl 16.

IOC: How old is she?
Chinese: 16
IOC: Ok thanks

 

[sacase]

I don't even know why they have the olympics anymore, everyone cheats and the IOC doesn't even like the US, which is why they are dropping women's softball....because we dominate it to much. If anything comes up that involves the US gaining anything....The IOC will rule against it. What a joke.

 

[WoodysGirl]

IOC’s gymnastics probe falls well short
By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports
3 hours, 19 minutes ago

BEIJING – At least when the NCAA runs one of its bogus investigations of Big State U, it sends some people out in the field, conducts some interviews and then after a few months (or years) claims that the Ferrari Enzo the star tailback was driving really did come from grandma back home and not the booster or the agent.

The International Olympic Committee apparently sees no need for such pause or pretense.

The “investigation” it ordered into whether some Chinese gymnasts were under the minimum age of 16 was concluded after just a few hours Friday.

The not-so stunning verdict: The Chinese are innocent.

Please move along, now. Nothing to see here.

“We believe the matter will be put to rest and there’s no question … on the eligibility,” IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said. “The information we have received seems satisfactory in terms of the correct documentation – including birth certificates.”

While you slept, the IOC swept.

Sorry, the matter isn’t being put to rest no matter how many whitewash inspections are done. A real investigation does not take hours. It takes days or weeks or however long is necessary.

What exactly did they do except look at the same questionable info – government-issued passports – they had previously been presented? Did they ask He Kexin if she was 16, cross your heart and hope to die?

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The Associated Press says the Chinese turned over information to the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) on Thursday evening. It included the current and former passport, ID card and family residence permit for the double-gold medalist. All had the same and proper birth date.

That was enough for FIG, which by Friday morning had declared everything fine.

No word on the old websites, interviews with friends and families, a trip to the birth hospital or discovery of old school records. Nothing.

Perhaps this would have amounted to little and perhaps He and the others are, indeed, 16 – but this was nothing but the most ridiculous kind of propaganda.

A 12-hour investigation? Really? No one at the IOC or FIG has even the sense to think, “Perhaps we should at least pretend to care before simply clearing the gymnasts?”

The investigation by FIG was so fast word of its start didn’t make the Chinese government-controlled English newspaper China Daily. No news is good news.

This in the face of mounting evidence from multiple media and citizen investigations in America and England that showed more and more old registration forms, gymnastics websites and athlete logs that showed three of the six Chinese gymnasts used to list birth dates from 1993 and 1994, which would make them too young to compete at the Olympics.

In an effort to protect young athletes before their bones and muscles fully formed, FIG mandates that to compete in the Beijing Games a gymnast must be born in 1992 or before.

First came stories in The New York Times, The Associated Press and the Times of London that listed He’s birth date as a too-young Jan. 1, 1994. Then private citizens got involved. The latest was from a New York computer expert going by the name Stryde Hax who combed old Chinese documents on the web that found even more of the same.

Just last December government controlled media wrote stories about He calling her a 13-year-old “little girl” and a “star of the future.” The future became now when she showed up at the Olympics with a Chinese passport that claimed she was born Jan. 1, 1992.

There were also suspicions about two of her teammates. The birth date of Yang Yilin was listed on official national registration lists posted by the General Administration of Sport of China website for three years from 2004 to 2006 as a too young Aug. 26, 1993, according to the AP.


The IOC said Friday it has ask…

AFP - Aug 22, 2:14 am EDT
On her passport her birth date is Aug. 26, 1992.

Jiang Yuyuan’s birthday was Oct. 1, 1993, as recently as a registration list for a 2007 competition. On her passport she was born Nov. 1, 1991.

Perhaps the birth date of one gymnast could be confused one time, but half the team on multiple occasions? Considering 2000 Chinese bronze medalist Yang Yun later admitted on state television she was 14 that year, the IOC or FIG should have been all over this.

Instead, they did nothing until the USOC requested action. Then they just brushed it aside.

Having younger, and presumably smaller and more nimble athletes, can be a significant advantage in some gymnastics disciplines. Romania’s Nadia Comaneci scored seven perfect 10s in the 1976 Games when she was just 14, before FIG set the age limit.

This investigation isn’t fair to the sport of gymnastics, which will forever look suspiciously on the competition here. It isn’t fair to the United States, Romania and Russia, who all deserve to move up one spot on the medal stand if China used ineligible athletes.

And it isn’t fair to China, He and her teammates, who if innocent don’t deserve this to hang over their heads forever.

The IOC and FIG have never been about fair, though. They’ve been about kowtowing to the powerful and cashing the checks. They have so lost their way, have become so insulated by the power, they can’t even fathom no one is accepting a kangaroo court investigation.

Even the NCAA is smarter than that.

 

[Yeagermeister]

Yeah she was 16 and the WWE is real :laugh2:

 

[burmafrd]

You know its bad when the NCAA looks good in comparison.

 

[Tusan_Homichi]

I dunno. I don't get the outrage. If the government itself is going to give her a passport that shows her to be 16 and the passport is considered a valid way of proving age according to their rules, well...

Whether or not she is actually 16, that's another matter, but if the government will forge all your documents to show that you are 16, well, you are 16.

That's the difference between say the US and China. Our own government would probably run an investigation into the possibility of documents being forged on someone's behalf. This is China though. It ain't gonna happen.

 

[jimmy40]

I dunno. I don't get the outrage.

Obviously an OU fan.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

Told you people.

No way the IOC was going to strip China of medals.

 

[Hostile]

Told you people.

No way the IOC was going to strip China of medals.

I think they should change the rule anyway, but it is a rule. Until it is changed abide by it.

Up until the Olympics this girl has been 14. Now she is magically 16 with Chinese government documents.

No doubt the little girl is amazing. I think the whole tiebreaker thing for the uneven bars is a bad rule, and so is the age limit to compete in gymnastics. Still they are rules. We abided by one to give this girl the Gold in uneven bars, but the Chinese are not going to be forced to abide by the rules.

I saw an interesting blurb on the Net last night about how many of China's Gold Medals are in events where there are judging rules to determine a winner instead of it being determined by athletes placing. No doubt they have great diving and gymnastics programs. They don't need to cheat to be great.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

The home country always benefits to some extent from judging, but it certainly does seem China has benefited more than others in the past.

They said they would win the most Gold and they will, with a little help from their friends.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

The home country always benefits to some extent from judging, but it certainly does seem China has benefited more than others in the past.

They said they would win the most Gold and they will, with a little help from their friends.

If we can't prove it, then there isn't much point in complaining about it. Sucks but that's how it is, just like Carl Lewis.

 

[burmafrd]

There seems to be a fair amount of PROOF that she was indeed 14 last year from all the GOVERNMENT publications that talked about her in the last couple of years. The IOC really should- if they have the stones- say show us absolute proof she is 16- not just a passport that can be made up any time. Show where she was in school the last 5 years, etc. They could do this - but they won't. I am surprised at how feeble their attempt was, though. Pretty sad even for them.

 

[kristie]

this is just crazy!

 

[Yeagermeister]

I saw an interview with the head of the IOC where he said it was up to the International Gymnastics Fed to pursue it. In other words he was washing his hands of it.