Are the Chinese Gymnasts Underage?
Are Chinese Gymnasts Underage? Day by day, the wheels seem to be falling off the Beijing Olympics. Now, in addition to the admission that the “firecracker steps” through Beijing to the Olympic stadium were pre-recorded and digitally enhanced, and that a nine-year-old girl, Lin Miaoke, didn’t really sing at the opening of the Olympic Games, comes word that the female Chinese gymnastics team may be underage. In an article by Liu Zhen of Reuters, which was reported in the National Post as well as other sources, accusations are being made that the Chinese gymnasts are underage. The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) rules indicate that athletes must be 16 or turning 16 during the Olympic year. According to the Reuters story, investigations by the United States media show online registration records that say Yang Yilin was 14. This is on the heels of two teammates, He Kexin and Jiang Yuyuan, being accused of being underage as well. Bela Karolyi, the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics coach, is
