# Olympic OS: Faked footprints. Who cares? (mild) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 11, 2008, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664 "2008-08-11T21:29:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/21 "2008-08-12T17:21:52Z")
[QUOTE=Deftones] Sounds like some members of the press are making much ado about nothing at all to piss on someone’s Olympic parade. Lip syncing young girls and cgi’d footprint fireworks? Oh no! That’s surely an international incident of some major concern there. [/quote] By that standard, who gives a fuck about the Olympics in the first place? > [@](#): > > The underage scandal is the most legitimate concern out of everything but they still need to cough up firm evidence and or an official investigation by the IOC for me to believe any of it off hand. You’re right, the press should stop investigating stuff - better to assume that if anything important goes down, the interested parties will work it out on their own without the public getting involved. As far as proof of this stuff goes, what do you want to see beyond the birth certificates showing these girls are younger than the Chinese government says they are? ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/22 "2008-08-12T17:31:45Z")
[QUOTE=yojimbo] More opening ceremony shenanigans. Nothing very unusual as Hollywood did it a lot back in the day, just look at [Marni Nixon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marni_Nixon), but it still sucks to be the non-perfect kid with the great voice. > **[BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | China Olympic ceremony star mimed](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7556058.stm)** > > A girl who won national fame singing at the Olympics opening ceremony mimed while another girl sang, officials confirm. [/QUOTE] The thing that confused me was why they had a 9 year old on stage in a maternity dress. ---
**Author:** ![Deftones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Deftones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deftones)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/23 "2008-08-12T17:53:25Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] By that standard, who gives a fuck about the Olympics in the first place? [/Quote] Are you honestly suggesting that the Olympics as a whole are now tainted by a few technical effects alterations in an open ceremony production? Unless the Chinese athletes are being CGI’d during their athletic performances I find the whole concern to be ludicrous nitpicking of the worst kind. > [@](#): > > You’re right, the press should stop investigating stuff - better to assume that if anything important goes down, the interested parties will work it out on their own without the public getting involved. > As far as proof of this stuff goes, what do you want to see beyond the birth certificates showing these girls are younger than the Chinese government says they are? Links? If this is concrete why hasn’t anyone personally hand delivered those documents to the IOC head office and made a case yet. If it’s that cut and dry it shouldn’t be hard to get their asses disqualified and cause a major loss of face. No really, that’s a genuine question. If there are documents and all sorts of evidence backing it up aside from a competing nation’s former coach trying to add an asterix then what’s with the delay? This should be the scandal of the Olympic decade here..of Marion Jones proportion. Let’s have that smoking gun and get 'er done. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/24 "2008-08-12T18:06:45Z")
[QUOTE=Turek] I dunno, but I’m sure someone will come along soon to point out how much better some flavor of Linux is. [/QUOTE] Didn’t you see the BSOD during the opening ceremonies? Bill Gates sure did: [CTRL+ALT+DEL: software malfunction at the opening ceremony](http://www.smh.com.au/news/off-the-field/bills-blue-screen-of-death-malfunction/2008/08/12/1218306871673.html) ETA: More pics here: [Blue Screen of Death Strikes Bird's Nest During Opening Ceremonies Torch Lighting](http://gizmodo.com/5035456/blue-screen-of-death-strikes-birds-nest-during-opening-ceremonies-torch-lighting) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/25 "2008-08-12T18:18:53Z")
[QUOTE=Deftones] Are you honestly suggesting that the Olympics as a whole are now tainted by a few technical effects alterations in an open ceremony production? [/quote] Uh, seeing as I never said anything like that, NO, I’m not suggesting it. > [@](#): > > Links? If this is concrete why hasn’t anyone personally hand delivered those documents to the IOC head office and made a case yet. If it’s that cut and dry it shouldn’t be hard to get their asses disqualified and cause a major loss of face. [Here’s a New York Times story on the subject.](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/sports/olympics/27gymnasts.html?scp=2&sq=olympics%20china%201994%20born%20gymnast&st=cse) > [@](#): > > The Times found two online records of official registration lists of Chinese gymnasts that list He’s birthday as Jan. 1, 1994, which would make her 14. A 2007 national registry of Chinese gymnasts — now blocked in China but viewable through Google cache — shows He’s age as “1994.1.1.” > > Another registration list that is unblocked, dated Jan. 27, 2006, and regarding an “intercity” competition in Chengdu, China, also lists He’s birthday as Jan. 1, 1994. That date differs by two years from the birth date of Jan. 1, 1992, listed on He’s passport, which was issued Feb. 14, 2008. > [@](#): > > No really, that’s a genuine question. If there are documents and all sorts of evidence backing it up aside from a competing nation’s former coach trying to add an asterix then what’s with the delay? > > This should be the scandal of the Olympic decade here..of Marion Jones proportion. Let’s have that smoking gun and get 'er done. [Asterisk, not asterix.] I’ll submit two reasons: nobody wants to piss off China, who holds all the relevant records and can get rid of any evidence that doesn’t prove what it says, and nobody really wants the scrutiny because everyone cheats and they think it’ll make the Olympics as a whole look bad. ---
**Author:** ![Deftones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Deftones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deftones)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/26 "2008-08-12T18:32:16Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] Uh, seeing as I never said anything like that, NO, I’m not suggesting it. [Here’s a New York Times story on the subject.](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/sports/olympics/27gymnasts.html?scp=2&sq=olympics%20china%201994%20born%20gymnast&st=cse) [Asterisk, not asterix.] I’ll submit two reasons: nobody wants to piss off China, who holds all the relevant records and can get rid of any evidence that doesn’t prove what it says, and nobody really wants the scrutiny because everyone cheats and they think it’ll make the Olympics as a whole look bad. [/QUOTE] Wait..so no one was afraid to claim that they are cheating but they are afraid to take the additional steps of delivering it to the IOC as evidence or try and initiate an investigation? Also, they say they pulled this information from some obscure database online? That must be quite a task to file the identity of 1.3 billion people on the internet for western agencies to peruse at their leisure. I don’t buy it. I have concerns about China on some things too but I feel there is a bit of an agenda here and it’s just as lame as the censoring nationalistic biased spew you see in Chinese papers. People busted Eastern European dopers all the time back when the USSR was something to be feared. People withdrew their athletes from competition as protest all the time back in the day. I don’t see China as being more or less feared than the USSR. I think there just isn’t enough genuine solid evidence to back anything up. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/27 "2008-08-12T18:38:43Z")
[QUOTE=Terminus Est] Didn’t you see the BSOD during the opening ceremonies? Bill Gates sure did: [CTRL+ALT+DEL: software malfunction at the opening ceremony](http://www.smh.com.au/news/off-the-field/bills-blue-screen-of-death-malfunction/2008/08/12/1218306871673.html) ETA: More pics here: [Blue Screen of Death Strikes Bird's Nest During Opening Ceremonies Torch Lighting](http://gizmodo.com/5035456/blue-screen-of-death-strikes-birds-nest-during-opening-ceremonies-torch-lighting) [/QUOTE] :eek: And my Mac was made in China… ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/28 "2008-08-12T18:59:48Z")
[QUOTE=Deftones] Wait..so no one was afraid to claim that they are cheating but they are afraid to take the additional steps of delivering it to the IOC as evidence or try and initiate an investigation? [/quote] You’re mixing “no ones” here. The press is not afraid to put the evidence of cheating out there, as you’re seeing. Countries and Olympic delegations seem more reluctant. > [@](#): > > Also, they say they pulled this information from some obscure database online? That must be quite a task to file the identity of 1.3 billion people on the internet for western agencies to peruse at their leisure. Try reading more carefully, okay? You’re BSing. The databases were described as a listing of Chinese _gymnasts_, of which there are not 1.3 billion in China. They even mentioned a specific competition and a specific date. Nobody said anything is “obscure,” they used the most popular search engine in the world. > [@](#): > > People busted Eastern European dopers all the time back when the USSR was something to be feared. People withdrew their athletes from competition as protest all the time back in the day. I don’t see China as being more or less feared than the USSR. I think there just isn’t enough genuine solid evidence to back anything up. I’m not talking about fear that somebody’s going to invade or blockade anyone. But I think all the major Olympic delegations have skeletons in their closets and they’re happy with a detente - and since China has the records and the passports of the gymnasts, this seems like it would be a hard accusation to prove considering the effort it might take. But if He is listed in older records as as being born in 1994 and then suddenly is discovered to be the proper age for the Olympics in a newer document, I know what that suggests to me. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/29 "2008-08-12T19:21:40Z")
[Harvey Araton adds,](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/13/sports/olympics/13araton.html?hp) in a piece that is obviously commentary and not objective, > [@](#): > > The international gymnastic governing body known as the F.I.G. said it was satisfied with the Chinese gymnasts’ documentation, despite reports suggesting three of the mites might be under the required age of 16. The International Olympic Committee, so heavily invested in a Games that China can be proud of, apparently does not want to know about the admission of a former Chinese gymnast who reportedly has claimed to have competed as a 14-year-old at the 2000 Sydney Games. > > […] > > For better or worse, these are the shrug-and-don’t-tell Olympics, undoubtedly because it would be considered impolitic to embarrass the Chinese after they went to such great expense to throw the world this lavish party. ---
**Author:** ![Deftones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Deftones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deftones)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/30 "2008-08-12T19:37:35Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] [Harvey Araton adds,](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/13/sports/olympics/13araton.html?hp) in a piece that is obviously commentary and not objective, [/QUOTE] That’s a lot of conjecture. If they are so dead set on setting the record straight about China it wouldn’t be far fetched for a large powerful newspaper like the NY times to send some of their “award” winning journalists to compile the evidence. They could submit it officially with complete press coverage in order to force a response. This idea that there’s a far reaching conspiracy preventing all this is truly lame but not unexpected on the internet. I just don’t buy that they have all this supposed evidence and nothing is being done. Even if it is circumstantial it could kick off a major investigation. Some of what’s going on here seems very agenda based to paint the Chinese athletes in the worst light possible. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/31 "2008-08-12T19:43:48Z")
[QUOTE=Deftones] That’s a lot of conjecture. [/quote] Granted. > [@](#): > > If they are so dead set on setting the record straight about China it wouldn’t be far fetched for a large powerful newspaper like the NY times to send some of their “award” winning journalists to compile the evidence. Have you heard of visas? China doesn’t have to let them in and doesn’t have to share anything with them. As it is, China is not allowing the Olympic reporters unrestricted Internet access. And if they could get reporters in there, which Chinese officials do you think will cooperate with this investigation? > [@](#): > > They could submit it officially with complete press coverage in order to force a response. This idea that there’s a far reaching conspiracy preventing all this is truly lame but not unexpected on the internet. To who, the IOC? I think we’ve seen how much the IOC cares about this right now. If this story has legs and sticks around maybe they will make an investigation. > [@](#): > > I just don’t buy that they have all this supposed evidence and nothing is being done. So you don’t think they actually Googled the stuff they said they Googled? 😕 > [@](#): > > Even if it is circumstantial it could kick off a major investigation. Not if the investigators aren’t interested. Do you think the FBI is going to get into this? If the IOC decides this is not a good idea to investigate, regardless of the truth of the accusation, then they are not going to look into it. ---
**Author:** ![Deftones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Deftones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deftones)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/32 "2008-08-12T19:59:05Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] Granted. Have you heard of visas? China doesn’t have to let them in and doesn’t have to share anything with them. As it is, China is not allowing the Olympic reporters unrestricted Internet access. And if they could get reporters in there, which Chinese officials do you think will cooperate with this investigation? [/quote] They don’t need to actually go to China. They can go to the IOC office elsewhere and file a formal complaint and bring the cameras turn it into a media circus. That’s a sure fire way of eliciting a formal response. There’s a lot of insinuations in that article about far reaching conspiracies and judges who will penalize countries that complain etc.. that seem very far fetched. Then again this is the same paper that gargled and swallowed all of Bush’s Iraq “yellowcake” evidence too so maybe I shouldn’t be too surprised here. > [@](#): > > So you don’t think they actually Googled the stuff they said they Googled? 😕 No i’m confused as to how a few unverified dates on the internet count as hard hitting proof of wrong doing here. If they went to all this trouble in falsifying documents then why bother putting info up on the internet? > [@](#): > > Not if the investigators aren’t interested. Do you think the FBI is going to get into this? If the IOC decides this is not a good idea to investigate, regardless of the truth of the accusation, then they are not going to look into it. No, I think what is happening here is that people want to believe it’s true no matter what. There’s a sheen of nationalistic self righteousness at play here. That’s the real insinuation. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/33 "2008-08-12T20:18:55Z")
[QUOTE=Deftones] They don’t need to actually go to China. [/quote] Then what do you want them to do? Their journalists are looking into this and already found some evidence, but now you’re demanding the paper investigate? 😕 I don’t get it. > [@](#): > > They can go to the IOC office elsewhere and file a formal complaint and bring the cameras turn it into a media circus. That’s not the job of a newspaper. > [@](#): > > There’s a lot of insinuations in that article about far reaching conspiracies and judges who will penalize countries that complain etc.. that seem very far fetched. Far fetched how? Only a couple of years ago, there was a controversy where a figure skating judge said she was pressured to let the Russian team win, and organized crime was allegedly involved. > [@](#): > > No i’m confused as to how a few unverified dates on the internet count as hard hitting proof of wrong doing here. If they went to all this trouble in falsifying documents then why bother putting info up on the internet? The old dates were up for years _and were later removed_, and in one case, blocked by Chinese censors. Hence the need for Google cache. You apparently think a journalistic investigation _starts_ with the conclusion. > [@](#): > > No, I think what is happening here is that people want to believe it’s true no matter what. There’s a sheen of nationalistic self righteousness at play here. That’s the real insinuation. Ha! Not only are you the first person to ever accuse me of nationalism - and you’re wrong - I don’t give a fuck for gymnastics and I don’t much care for the Olympics. I still think the facts in this case point to one conclusion. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/34 "2008-08-12T20:36:08Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] :eek: And my Mac was made in China… [/QUOTE] Macs don’t bluescreen and Windows isn’t made in China. ---
**Author:** ![Emerald\_Hawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Emerald\_Hawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emerald_Hawk)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/35 "2008-08-12T21:51:19Z")
Returning to the OP, here’s some video that shows the real fireworks, unless it was planted by Chinese government agents: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbZrI8onelg) Honestly, the real ones look pretty sweet and I actually like the ground view better than the air view. It really gives the impression that an invisible giant is going to step on you. [Off Topic] If you want something to hate China for, personally I’m still pissed about their coverup of the February 15, 1996 crash of the Long March 3B rocket. They would have listed the death toll at zero if they thought they could get away with it. Only after video leaked out did they raise their number to 56, which is still meaningless and it’s probably more like 200-500. ([cite, scroll down](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/campfin/stories/rocket061298.htm)) I couldn’t care less about underage Chinese gymnasts or CG fireworks when they’ve done so many other things that are so much worse. God I love freedom of the press in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2008, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/36 "2008-08-12T22:04:40Z")
[QUOTE=Deftones] They don’t need to actually go to China. They can go to the IOC office elsewhere and file a formal complaint and bring the cameras turn it into a media circus. That’s a sure fire way of eliciting a formal response. There’s a lot of insinuations in that article about far reaching conspiracies and judges who will penalize countries that complain etc.. that seem very far fetched. No i’m confused as to how a few unverified dates on the internet count as hard hitting proof of wrong doing here. If they went to all this trouble in falsifying documents then why bother putting info up on the internet? No, I think what is happening here is that people want to believe it’s true no matter what. There’s a sheen of nationalistic self righteousness at play here. That’s the real insinuation. [/QUOTE] First, the birthdates were posted before anyone knew these girls were going to be in the Olympics. When they got on the team, that was when they got embarrassing. Second, the IOC’s response, as shown in the Times article, was that the passports had a date making the girls legal, so all was fine. It is kind of hard to prove a forgery when the forger is the legitimate issuer of the document. Obviously the IOC is not going to stir things up. Third, who is being nationalistic here? That an underage gymnast gets disqualified is not helping any one particular team. It’s not like the US gymnasts would suddenly get gold. Fourth, are you seriously claiming that the Chinese government wouldn’t change the birthdate to help win medals? This reminds me of when the environmental engineer at a place I worked came back from China on a tour, and gave a talk, with pictures, showing a lot of the pollution. A certain segment of our work population had a total fit that she was so anti-Chinese to have the nerve to show those pictures. I read an interesting article about a poll. taken worldwide, on the perception of China in the world. Twice as many Chinese thought the world viewed them favorably as actually did. There was also a question on the perception of human rights in China - but the pollsters were not allowed to ask the Chinese that question. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2008, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/37 "2008-08-13T01:28:33Z")
[QUOTE=Terminus Est] Macs don’t bluescreen and Windows isn’t made in China. [/QUOTE] No, we get the beachball from hell aka the pinwheel of death, instead. FTR, I think BOTH those girls are cute as buttons. I also think they both look “Chinese” (whatever that may mean). I’m glad that the singer’s name is at least out there and she’s not hidden away ala Debbie Reynolds’ character of _Singin’ In The Rain_ fame… (and Marni Nixon). ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Barchetta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/da6949/32.png) [@Red\_Barchetta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Barchetta)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2008, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/38 "2008-08-13T03:04:57Z")
Is there a video online of the opening ceremony? ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2008, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/39 "2008-08-13T03:12:14Z")
And now, it turns out the [pretty little girl was lip-syncing](http://www.gulfnews.com/sport/Olympic/10236762.html). What’s Chinese for Milli Vanilli? First one to say “Mirri Vanirri” is a racist ---
**Author:** ![Deftones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Deftones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deftones)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2008, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664/40 "2008-08-13T04:48:36Z")
[QUOTE=Voyager] First, the birthdates were posted before anyone knew these girls were going to be in the Olympics. [/quote] They were involved in world competition already. If they were being groomed as competitors for future Olympics it doesn’t make sense that all their profiles would be online like that. No really, think about this one for a minute and realize how lame it is. > [@](#): > > When they got on the team, that was when they got embarrassing. Second, the IOC’s response, as shown in the Times article, was that the passports had a date making the girls legal, so all was fine. Actually didn’t one official pretty much say he’d look into it if an official complaint was made? No one except the former U.S. coach has said anything. It just seems like he’s trying to add an asterix besides the Chinese athletes to excuse the current team’s chances at a gold. After all his wife is the current coach. > [@](#): > > It is kind of hard to prove a forgery when the forger is the legitimate issuer of the document. Obviously the IOC is not going to stir things up. No it’s not obvious. The IOC didn’t hesitate in kicking out a spanish doper and they haven’t hesitated in the past in stripping medals with evidence. Re: Marion Jones. > [@](#): > > Third, who is being nationalistic here? That an underage gymnast gets disqualified is not helping any one particular team. It’s not like the US gymnasts would suddenly get gold. It seems like the whole “cheating” accusations has reached a crescendo and directly corresponds with the number of gold medals China has won when competing with the U.S. It’s funny how it seems like mainly the main competing nation is obsessed with this and no other country has brought this up even though they are also in the same events. > [@](#): > > Fourth, are you seriously claiming that the Chinese government wouldn’t change the birthdate to help win medals? You’re assuming the worst to justify a conspiracy. Unless there is more proof aside from a few online profiles then it’s sort of silly to presume anything. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/olympic-os-faked-footprints-who-cares-mild/459664.md?page=3)