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IOC: No proof China cheated in gymnastics
‘There’s no question ... on eligibility,’ group’s spokeswoman says
MSNBC News Services
updated 5:24 a.m. ET, Fri., Aug. 22, 2008
BEIJING - With the parents growing indignant and the Beijing Games
winding down, the International Olympic Committee wants to “put to rest”
persistent questions about the age of China’s gold medal women’s
gymnastics team.
The IOC said Friday there is still no proof anyone cheated, though it asked
the International Gymnastics Federation to investigate “what have been a
number of questions and apparent discrepancies,” spokeswoman Giselle
Davies said. However, all the information the Chinese gymnastics federation
presented supports its insistence that its athletes were old enough to
compete.
“We believe the matter will be put to rest and there’s no question ... on the
eligibility,” Davies said. “The information we have received seems
satisfactory in terms of the correct documentation — including birth
certificates.”
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 uneven bars, Yang Yilin won bronze medals in the all-
around and bars.
With the games wrapping up Sunday, the IOC wants to quickly end any
lingering doubts about underage competitors.
No one would be happier to finally have closure on the controversy than the
gymnasts’ parents.
China coach Lu Shanzan said the parents are “indignant” over persistent
questions about their daughters’ ages.
“It’s not just me. The parents of our athletes are all very indignant,” Lu
said. “They have faced groundless suspicion. Why aren’t they believed?
Why are their children suspected? Their parents are very angry.”
In an interview with The Associated Press, Lu said Asian gymnasts are
naturally smaller than their American and European rivals.
“At this competition, the Japanese gymnasts were just as small as the
Chinese,” he said. “Chinese competitors have for years all been small. It is
not just this time. It is a question of race. European and American athletes
are all powerful, very robust. But Chinese athletes cannot be like that. They
are by nature that small.”
He said the governing body of gymnastics was given additional documents
Thursday night to try to dispel lingering questions. Those documents
included He’s current and former passport, ID card and family residence
permit. Lu said the documents all say she was born in 1992, which would
have made her eligible to compete. Gymnasts must turn 16 during the
Olympic year to be eligible.
“Surely it’s not possible that these documents are still not sufficient proof of
her birthdate?” Lu asked. “The passports were issued by the Chinese
Foreign Ministry. The identity card was issued by China’s Ministry of Public
Security. If these valid documents are not enough to clarify this problem,
then what will you believe?
“The Chinese government and the Chinese athletes must be respected,” he
added.
The coach dismissed Chinese media reports and online records that
suggested that He, Yang and a third team member, Jiang Yuyuan, might be
as young as 14.
“If you trust every Web site but not a government...,” he said. “There are so
many Web sites, so much hearsay. These are not official. It is possible that
all news on the Internet is accurate?”
The federation has said repeatedly that a passport is the “accepted proof of
a gymnast’s eligibility,” and that China’s gymnasts have presented ones that
show they are age eligible. The IOC also checked the girls’ passports and
deemed them valid before the games began.
Andre Gueisbuhler, secretary general of the FIG, said the federation would
release a statement later Friday.
“For the time being, there is nothing I can add,” Gueisbuhler said.
The IOC did not give details on what new information prompted it to act now,
three days after the gymnastics competition ended.
“With some questions still remaining, we asked the federation to take a
closer look,” Davies said.
The U.S. Olympic Committee said it sent a letter to the IOC and the FIG on
Friday, asking that the matter be resolved.
“We certainly believe that it’s important for the IOC and the international
federation to review the issue and hopefully lay it to rest because the
questions surrounding the age of some of the athletes have been out there
for quite a while and it’s unfair to them and unfair to the other athletes to
continue to linger,” USOC chief executive Jim Scherr said.
“So we have sent a letter to the IOC and to the international federation
asking them to review the matter and see if they can’t resolve it for the good
of the competition, the integrity of the competition and the good of all the
athletes.”
The Chinese women won six medals, including the team gold and He’s gold
on uneven bars. Media reports include a Nov. 3 story by the Chinese
government’s news agency, Xinhua, that suggest He is only 14. Asked
again earlier this week about her age after winning the uneven bars title,
beating American Nastia Liukin in a tiebreak, she said:
“I was born in 1992, and I’m 16 years old now,” He said. “The FIG has
proved that. If I’m under 16, I couldn’t have been competing here.”
Earlier this month, the AP found registration lists previously posted on the
Web site of the General Administration of Sport of China that showed both
He and Yang were too young to compete. He was born Jan. 1, 1994,
according to the 2005, 2006 and 2007 registration lists. Yang was born
Aug. 26, 1993, according to the 2004, 2005 and 2006 registration lists. In
the 2007 registration list, however, her birthday has changed to Aug. 26,
1992.
“We played fair at this Olympic Games,” Liukin’s father and coach, Valeri,
said after they arrived back in the United States. “... If somebody cheated,
shame on them.”
Added Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics: “USA Gymnastics has
always believed this issue needed to be addressed by the FIG and IOC. An
investigation would help bring closure to the issue and remove any cloud of
speculation from this competition.”
Age falsification has been a problem in gymnastics since the 1980s after
the minimum age was raised from 14 to 15 to protect young athletes from
serious injuries. The minimum age was raised to its current 16 in 1997.
Younger gymnasts are considered to have an advantage because they are
more flexible and are likely to have an easier time doing the tough skills the
sport requires. They also aren’t as likely to have a history of injuries or fear
of failure.
North Korea was barred from the 1993 world championships after FIG
officials discovered Kim Gwang Suk, the gold medalist on uneven bars in
1991, was listed as 15 for three years in a row. Romania admitted in 2002
that several gymnasts’ ages had been falsified, including Olympic medalists
Gina Gogean and Alexandra Marinescu.
Even China’s own Yang Yun, a double bronze medalist in Sydney, said
during an interview aired on state broadcaster China Central Television that
she was 14 during the 2000 Games.
© 2008 MSNBC Interactive
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