Is China cheating?
 

Are the girls competing for the Chinese gymnastics team really 15/16 years old?
Did China falsify documents to make the age of their gymnasts older?

The rule is, they have to be turning age 16 the year of the Olympics.

What do you think?

No way are they 16.

One of them looked like she's 10-12. At least half were very questionable.

Can I change my vote? I pressed the wrong button... duh !

No way those girls are even 15...

I'll fix it.

Not sure. They say there was an article claiming one was 13, but IOC only asks for a state passport to verify age. If they feel like changing this for the next Olympics..fine..however that is the standard now and China provided passports stating they were 16+.

Do I believe that...:dunno: I've seen plenty of Asian girls that look like they are 5 when they are really 24...so who knows. Sorry but to me the timing is piss-poor. Right now it looks like bitchy US citizens crying because they lost IMO.

The issue is way bigger than the provided credentials the IOC requires.

If someone is caught cheating, doping, HGH, etc. Then it is happening on a micro level. Maybe it's the athlete or a coach, etc.

But if China is cheating, that is happening on a MACRO level. It is sponsored cheating by the COUNTRY, not just the athletes or the coaches. Country sanctioned cheating is a HUGE problem that goes well beyond one person making a very questionable mistake. It completely undermines the entire purpose of the olympics and the rules that are set by the IOC.

Especially when it's happening in the host country.

- My vote, if China is caught cheating and someone comes forward with proof, I think CHINA should be disqualified from the Olympics on a mass scale as punishment for state sanctioned cheating.

Well that logic, why is the US not banned for all the athletes that have admitted doping to win?

Good question. I'll try to articulate an answer.

If an athlete dopes, he/she is not doing it under the order, knowledge or support of that countries Olympic Committee and GOVERNMENT.
It is an individual making a very bad choice, for which they should be punished.

If a country is falsifying documents to help it's athletes win competitions, than it is not just the athlete who is cheating, it is the entire country.
An athlete can not just BECOME 15 or 16 years old. It takes an administration of people, parents, neighbors, coaches, bureaucrats, politicians, record keepers, etc. to change, not just one, but most probably SEVERAL athletes PASSPORTS, BIRTH CERTIFICATES, etc.

So again, it's the difference between an athlete cheating and STATE SANCTIONED and FACILITATED cheating.

Just looking at the girls and knowing how Asians do things one can be 95% sure they're underage. For example: I'm of Indian origin, and a lot of people in my parent's generation have birth certificates and passports that document their birth x months or a year older than they actually are. This was very common in my parent's day in India, esp in the rural side so that they could start school one year earlier. This type of nudging of dates isn't uncommon at any level.