Some dude has done some sleuthing with search engines. It turns out that He Kexin (何可欣) was actually 14 when she competed. China has got rid of the old documents from the web, but they still exist in Baidu’s cache. Somewhat disturbingly Google’s cache omits the politically inconvenient information.
Funny how Google seems to be a better memory hole than Baidu, given that Baidu is Chinese owned and has its servers in China. So much for “Do no evil” I guess.
I’m taking this thing as both right–but China’s still wrong kind of thing. Isn’t it just because of the different ways of counting? She was a year when she was born and another year at CNY, then three on her first birthday? Yes, she’s 16 if you count like that, but only 14 if you count like the other competitors, so it’s not really fair. At least, that’s what I think all this is about. Of course, the Chinese government can print a passport that has whateve information they please, so that’s just not even relavant.
I dunno about China but Korea had something like that. But the IOC rules presumably specify age as “complete years from birth based on the date in your passport”. And the Chinese government just changed her date of birth and gave her a new passport. So it’s cheating, not a cultural misunderstanding.
I am not sure that too many Chinese people will see it as cheating. It is not unusual for births to be registered some time after the event and the date of registration can be recorded as the date of birth. The issue of a passport or IC will normally be based on that, but not if a declaration of late registration is made. This sort of cock-up also happens in Malaysia. My Malaysian/Chinese girlfriend has official date of birth which differs markedly from her actual dob. Always suspect the dob when there are a lot of eights and ones in it: it has probably been chosen for good luck rather than accuracy.
Actually I can see how you could be YOUNGER by not registering the birth in time but 3 years OLDER. The point here is that 12-14 months before she was competing as a 13 year old, so what her parents just realised they accidentally forgot to register her birth for 3 years …16 years ago?
Unfortunately this doesn’t really prove that she’s 14. The Chinese government can simply say that local officials erred in entering her age, or that she lied about her age in order to enter a local tournament. The bottom line is this, which one is more authoritative? A valid, government issued passport, or some random internet pages? Unless there’s more direct evidence, I’d say if her passport says she’s 16, than that’s what the IOC has to go by.
I don’t know about the logic behind cheating. Because there is really no advantage for being younger.
Sort of like the Canadian stripped of their medal for smoking marijuana during the snowboarding events.
[quote=“ac_dropout”]I don’t know about the logic behind cheating. Because there is really no advantage for being younger.
Sort of like the Canadian stripped of their medal for smoking marijuana during the snowboarding events.
To the casual observer these are disadvantages.[/quote]
I would suggest you do some research into the development of the human body between the ages of say 11-16 before making a statement as ludicrous as this one.
[quote=“ac_dropout”]I don’t know about the logic behind cheating. Because there is really no advantage for being younger.
Sort of like the Canadian stripped of their medal for smoking marijuana during the snowboarding events.
To the casual observer these are disadvantages.[/quote]
In gymnastics, younger would certainly seem better, especially in the non-strength events. (Typically, the strength events would be the men’s rings and parallel bars, which is why we almost never hear of younger men being rushed into the Olympics.) Girls of a younger age would be slightly more flexible, and since smaller things turn faster, the tumbling and the jumps and the spins would seem to be more easily and elegantly pulled off by a smaller person.
Evidence or no, I’ve been teaching Asian kids for seven years and have NEVER seen a 16-year-old that small and that frail looking. The ChiComs cooked the books, which is why the entire Olympics is a sham and has been for decades. The IOC is possibly the weakest organization ever assembled, aside from the Legion of Doom. If the Wonder Twins can turn into a bucket of water and a dove and bring you down, you’re villainy is not that menacing…
[quote=“Edgar Allen”]
We need more of these sorts of posts! [/quote]
What I like about Fark is that people post funny pictures in threads, like the O RLY owl and the HA HA Guy.
[quote=“ac_dropout”]I don’t know about the logic behind cheating. Because there is really no advantage for being younger.
Sort of like the Canadian stripped of their medal for smoking marijuana during the snowboarding events.
To the casual observer these are disadvantages.[/quote]
[quote=“ac_dropout”]I don’t know about the logic behind cheating. Because there is really no advantage for being younger.
Sort of like the Canadian stripped of their medal for smoking marijuana during the snowboarding events.
To the casual observer these are disadvantages.[/quote]
Are you sure about that? You seem to be an expert on everything these days. Evidence?
Also, medal’s don’t have to be stripped because of performance enhancing drugs… going against the spirit of the Olympics is enough?
[quote=“the_average_white_man”][quote=“ac_dropout”]I don’t know about the logic behind cheating. Because there is really no advantage for being younger.
Sort of like the Canadian stripped of their medal for smoking marijuana during the snowboarding events.
To the casual observer these are disadvantages.[/quote]
In gymnastics, younger would certainly seem better, especially in the non-strength events. (Typically, the strength events would be the men’s rings and parallel bars, which is why we almost never hear of younger men being rushed into the Olympics.) Girls of a younger age would be slightly more flexible, and since smaller things turn faster, the tumbling and the jumps and the spins would seem to be more easily and elegantly pulled off by a smaller person.
Evidence or no, I’ve been teaching Asian kids for seven years and have NEVER seen a 16-year-old that small and that frail looking. The ChiComs cooked the books, which is why the entire Olympics is a sham and has been for decades. The IOC is possibly the weakest organization ever assembled, aside from the Legion of Doom. If the Wonder Twins can turn into a bucket of water and a dove and bring you down, you’re villainy is not that menacing…[/quote]
Having trained in olympic events with other athletes I cannot really say there is an advantage for a junior olympian vs. an olympian. The fundimental issues for athletes have always been innate talent, quality of training, and time devoted to training.
Unless you’re trying to state that in women’s gynastics the athlete peaks at 14? I can see an issue if an athlete has passed their prime. But to claim athletes that are not even near their physical prime as cheating against athletes that are in their prime, sounds like sour grapes.
If you can’t beat a 14 year old in any event, perhaps you don’t deserve to win?
