Eh, I wouldn't agree with that personally. It is harder to judge their age but they don't exactly look younger. However, the 20 year old gymnast for China clearly looks the age. Even some of the girls listed at 16 or 17 look the part, but there are one or two and there is one in particular (can't recall her name) that looks extremely young.
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- Thread starter Simon F
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Eh, I wouldn't agree with that personally. It is harder to judge their age but they don't exactly look younger. However, the 20 year old gymnast for China clearly looks the age. Even some of the girls listed at 16 or 17 look the part, but there are one or two and there is one in particular (can't recall her name) that looks extremely young.
Anarchist4000
Veteran
I'd agree that individuals with an oriental complexion tend to look a little younger but we're talking way younger here. Even according to the Chinese some publications in the past improperly listed the girls as being younger than what they currently say. The Chinese defense is that their passports say a valid age so it has to be true.
One or two of the gymnasts are likely only a year or two below the limit. That one however can't be more than 12-13 years of age. Even what can be seen of her personality seems more like that of a 12 year old.
Personally I wouldn't put it past the Chinese to cheat in everything they thought they could get away with. Odds are the passports are forged and the desired DOB was entered. I also find it odd they managed to take 8 of 10 weightlifting golds the last I looked. Probably half the Chinese golds come from weightlifting and judo. I know they were targeting the off sports but sports in which performance enhancing drugs would be prevalent seems a rather interesting choice.
One or two of the gymnasts are likely only a year or two below the limit. That one however can't be more than 12-13 years of age. Even what can be seen of her personality seems more like that of a 12 year old.
Personally I wouldn't put it past the Chinese to cheat in everything they thought they could get away with. Odds are the passports are forged and the desired DOB was entered. I also find it odd they managed to take 8 of 10 weightlifting golds the last I looked. Probably half the Chinese golds come from weightlifting and judo. I know they were targeting the off sports but sports in which performance enhancing drugs would be prevalent seems a rather interesting choice.
In what sense? The Olympics as a whole or just the statistics?
IIRC, the "Thorpedo" came down with glandular fever which meant he was "off form" for months and, in the mean time, discovered he had could do a lot more out of the pool.
A column on a local paper here discussed about this age things. The author presented several sources of that girl's age (most sources were "official" sources from Chinese government a few years ago) which seem to be right that the girl is certainly underage. Actually it's not the first time this happened, but IOC doesn't seem to care about it too much.
Because there hasn't been such a thing as a real amateur athlete at the Olympics in a damn long time. Countries having been paying athletes for medals for decades before they decided to allow professional athletes.
chavvdarrr
Veteran
Let us all prey, not a single man or woman from these participating in Olympic games will die from "heart attack" in his 30s .
since the mens 100m was broken a couple of days ago got me thinking about
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Griffith-Joyner
I wonder when her record will be beaten, ~2020?
dunno if they see it like that even if mature, in china perhaps only 1 in a 100 of athletes make it to the top rung where life is cruisey, fame/fortune (after they retire), but now the average persons chances there will be way less than that.
working 60+ hrs a week in a sweatshop/mine/factory at the age of 16 or younger aint good for ya either.
no doubt there was performance enhancing drugs evolved, though in those sports theres also weight catagories which evens up the physical disadvantage the average chinese person has against someone from the west. not to mention they prolly tested 100s millions ppl 8+ years ago (when they learnt the olympics were coming) to find out who the natural talents were, a benefit of a totalitarian regime.
Ben Johnson was a big wakeup call. Marian Jones is maybe worse, because she never even failed a drug test. Then you get a shady looking situation with Carl Lewis. It's very hard for people not to be skeptical, especially when you look at the information turned up in the Balco investigation. The guy who ran the labs claims he had informants working inside accredited labs that would tell him which drugs could be screened and which could not.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_online/scorecard/news/2003/04/15/sc/
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/04/17/1050172709693.html
Well then, I suppose that settles that. I'm glad to see such a shared interest in the sport. I was shocked when people at my office were watching replays on their computers when I mentioned how great I thought fencing was, the general consensus wasn't well received. While I was watching it today, I began thinking about whether or not it was one of those sports that were enjoyable to play or if it was one that was better to be watched. The bouts are so quick sometimes; it looks like after a while it would get frustrating. It's all a big mystery to me...
I like it. I only tried it once and it was Sabre as I find foil ridiculous. Still it was very fun and I beat the random newbie I was against, then one of the experienced ones (who competes) came up (as there was something about the strip like a tradition where you lose then the winner gets a bout) anyway I beat him as well, but I was too tired after to play anymore. Sweating like a pig, but at least I got to shock the fellow (b/c I managed to win) it was fairly humorous.
I took a fencing course at college back in the fall of 1985. The instructor worked as a civilian engineer at WPAFB and taught fencing part-time and had won the silver back in the '56 Olympics. Short, stout little Italian, but watching him fence was like watching a Three Musketeers movie. He'd put himself in a corner and let 3-4 of his students come at him all at once and none of us could touch him.
I did fencing (sabre) in college also. I'm not sure my knees would appreciate it these days. Plus, its gotten really expensive where even the sabre stuff is electric these days, and those suits are (or were last time I checked) REALLY pricy.
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