The one good thing that could come out of this is to give the world a concrete example of what lengths China will go to in order to get what it wants. I am frankly surprised that the IOC is going to do anything about it, because when you think of what they have already turned a blind eye to, this is the tip of the iceberg. Unfortunately, people get more bunched up about something this insignificant, and don’t spend 5 seconds worrying about serious human rights violations…some of which involve these same gymnasts.
I’m torn on the issue, because while I think it’s not right that the rules have been broken, I also completely believe that none of these gymnasts have even a little bit of choice in the matter, and they will have to suffer humiliation and perhaps a lot worse than that. And if there are going to be rules that are pretty much unenforceable, then I think you have to accept that there is going to be cheating.
Diogenes, while I tend to lean towards your point of view here, I think there absolutely is an unfair advantage going on. As pointed out, if there was a rule in basketball that no one could be over 6 feet tall, and somehow the Chinese snuck Yao Ming in there, they would obviously have an advantage. Doesn’t matter WHY the 6 foot rule is in effect. And it’s not just an advantage in a given game, it’s an advantage on the macro level…when you are selecting your team, you take the best out of the pool you have. If you are choosing only among the pool of basketball players who are 6 feet tall and under, you have a much smaller pool to select from than if height isn’t an issue at all. This is the same…if the US could take gymnasts of any age, then there would be a good chance that half the women on our team wouldn’t have been there, having been replaced by younger girls. Then, who knows what would have happened in that team competition?
Yeah, I think all of the business about who is being forced to lie and the innocent Chinese gymnasts vs. the self-serving smug Americans is basically irrelevant. You have a team that is breaking a rule in such a way as to give it an unfair advantage over other teams. Either enforce the rule (preferably by doing better background checks and disallowing participation by underage gymnasts in the first place, but by stripping medals after the fact if necessary) or get rid of the rule, so that everybody can have 14-year-old gymnasts on their team. The situation as it stands is unfair and frankly kind of ridiculous.
I should note that this has happened in the past. Athletes have taken over-the-counter medications without realizing that they contained substances banned by the IOC, ephedrine in particular. Whether the drugs were taken knowingly or unknowingly, having the drugs in one’s system is a violation of the rules, and bannination followed. The athletes complained, to no avail.
I’m puzzled that anyone is arguing in favor of He keeping her medals. If you want to argue against the purpose of the rule, that’s fine, but the fact is that the rule was in place for the competition, it was known to everyone involved, and it was violated. Maybe it is a stupid rule, but just like the regulations about women’s beach volleyball uniforms, you know the rules going in, and if you don’t adhere to the rules, you are disqualified.
Anyway, what purpose would be served by allowing her to keep the medals? Even if she keeps the physical medals, there’s no way the IOC will allow her to keep the titles associated with them; her “victories” will be removed from the lists of champions in the record books. So, all she’ll have are some pricey trinkets that remind her of a shameful incident from her past. And let’s face it, with a public disgrace this huge, it’s unlikely she’ll ever compete again. China will want to sweep her under the rug and pretend she never existed; her only chance to keep competing is to go to another country, and the odds of her escaping China are pretty slim. Her gymnastics career is almost certainly over, and she’ll have to forge a new life for herself somehow, having traded a decade of schooling for physical training.
In my opinion, she’ll be better served by being rid of the medals, so as to put the whole mess behind her more easily and get on with her life. I feel sorry for her and the uphill battle she’s facing, but were I in her shoes, I wouldn’t want those medals hanging around.
8 years after the fact, and it looks like there won’t be any investigation or stripped medal. A minor loss of face at best. And whatever happens in one particular incident doesn’t change the fact that the power the authorities have over a lot of these athletes and their families is immense.
Also, the critical juncture is not at the Olympics, where they have media attention and a certain power, I’d say, but well before. In the years of training before, the kids often have very little control over their lives. Once they’ve already been coerced into this path, and this is all they’ve known their whole lives, who in their right mind would even consider the possibility of being a whistleblower when the big event finally comes?
In the end, the IOC can’t be held accountable for, nor should it be expected to change, China’s human/child right’s violations. But it shouldn’t reward them, either.
The age requirement was known and agreed to by the participating nations long before now.
While the athlete in question is merely a pawn in international PR politics, the IOC’s powers are limited. (I assume revoking medals and banning future participation are about all it can do.)
In order to protect the integrity of the sport, and the Olympic Games, the IOC should act, IMO. The Olympics have turned into a big commercial enterprise. A lot of money gets spent (and made) by the participating nations. Also, there is a lot of potential prestige to be earned by the athletes and their home nations, even those who don’t win (but do make the qualifiers). If the IOC “allows cheating”, it hurts the future of the Olympics.
However, I can see where the IOC wants to tread carefully. On one hand, you have “official” documents that give the age of an athlete, while on the other you have “slightly more nebulus” evidence in newspaper articles and (no longer existing) web page info. I can see how one source of info may be judged by them to have more “weight” than another, and this might provide an opportunity for the IOC to take “the easy way out” (plausible deniability), especially if there is no (or little) apparent way to verify with certainty one way or another.
You can’t punish the adults, and you know that pretty well. Except precisely by stripping the gymnast of her medals hence undoing their efforts to have an under-age competitor compete. And deterring them from future similar abuses.
And it’s not vindictive and childish. It’s not about shaming the girl but about enforcing the rules. If you’re not allowed to compete, you’re not allowed to compete, and you cannot win, period. Even if you’re an innocent sweet 14 y.o. or fluffy kitten.
And once again, as you himself insist on pointing out, this rule is implemented to protect children. If it’s not enforced, it will result in further abuse.
What’s your problem, exactly? Do you think that all other considerations, like playing by the rules in a world-level competition or preventing child abuse should be ignored because it would make a little girl sad and making a little girl sad is unacceptable in all circumstances? I honestly can’t think of any other reason that would make you defend this position.
Quite a weird statement from someone who used to state that adults who had sex with underage girls should be let to rot and eat rats in a cell and further defended the position that it didn’t mattered if the girl was barely under the legal age of consent and the “abuser” barely above it.
I’ll remember that you’ve now changed your mind and think that “underage” is an arbitrary word.
Absolutely wrong. It serves 2 good purposes - It denies China whatever prestige it felt it gained by cheating in the Olympics. It grants the honors to the legitimate winners who earned them. If it doesn’t deter China, wonderful, strip their medals every time they do this until they have learned the meaning of rules or the meaning of shame. Honestly, what part of the concept of fair play do you not understand?
She knew what she was doing was against the rules. But what kid can be expected to stand up against the power of the state? I feel sorry for her because she will get most of the blame.
I think this is all going to be moot, anyway. If the Chinese government could come up with fake passports, they can come up with fake birth certificates or whatever else they need to do to get the IOC off their backs. I seriously doubt they will go so far as to force the athletes to have some kind of medical testing to estimate their true age, if that can even be done.
I’d be sad because I don’t think the kid is in any way to blame. I’d also be disappointed because I hate when medal are reassigned after the fact. I like seeing my sports decided right there, on the field of play. Not days/weeks later after lawyers and officials get involved.
However, I don’t see an alternative if it’s proven that she’s underage. If she wasn’t eligible to compete, then she shouldn’t be awarded a medal. Regardless of whether the rule is a good one or not (and I don’t know enough about gymnastics to have an opinion one way or the other), it was in place when she entered the competition.
I don’t blame her because (as mentioned) how is a kid supposed to stand up to the Chinese government? But, if she’s not eligible to compete, she shouldn’t keep the medal.
Actually, I think everyone knows that she’s not to blame, and there’s no way she had any recourse except to go along with what her government demanded her to do.
They should still strip her of her medals, though. Just because she’s not most responsible for the deception doesn’t mean the deception didn’t happen. And as much as this might hurt her, it will be significant egg on China’s face. This has been one major public relations enterprise, and largely successful (periodic protest or expose notwithstanding), so the last thing they want is for people’s lasting impression of the games as one where they cooked the books in one of the most visible and popular of events.
I think more than anything, the degree of face-saving at stake is what will compel China to obstruct and obfuscate as much as possible with the IOC until the story dies a whimpering death amidst a sea of long-term legal maneuvering.
Yes, absolutely! For you see, the sprinting rules does not have an age limit.
In fact, methinks China’s He Kexin missed out on a “golden” opportunity to win the 100 and 200 meter races. You see, there’s nothing in the rules that explicitly prohibit the use of a shotgun.
Although it is usually against the local laws to shoot your competitors, the Chinese goverment can make an exception in this case.
After all, it’s the other runner’s fault for not thinking of the idea first.
And He Kexin could get two more medals in the men’s 100 and 200 meter races. Why should that obviously cheatin’, steroid abusin’ Usain Bolt get a medal? It’s just a simple matter of the Chinese government issuing her the appropriate passport and legal documentation to prove she is a man.
If anyone complains, I’m sure Diogenes the Cynic will stand up for her, after all she is just a victim of the nasty Chinese government.
I see no way you could get away without stripping the medal. Rules are rules.
That said, this is a stupid rule. I promise that 100% of the Olympic gymnasts had been training from early childhood- including training right through age 14. I really don’t see how “you can train your ass off, but you can’t compete” is saving any young bodies from wear and tear. If anything, it is causing more injuries as it prolongs people’s training. I think this rules was entirely a publicity tool designed to quash sensationalist news stories about “those poor child athletes” by keeping the youngest athletes out of the news (but not out of the gym).
I can’t believe I have to point this out, but not every 15 year old in the world is going to turn 16 this year.
Incredibly, some people turned 15 after the year started but before the olympics started.
If a gymnast had such an unlucky birthday, they would be unable to compete at age 15.
In addition, after waiting for the next olympics, the peak of their career would be over.
In other words, based on this rule, they would be banned from the olympics for the entire peak of their career.
I think it’s ridiculous to keep out some of the best gymnasts in the world because they don’t meet some arbitrary age limit. He should keep the medal and the IOC should get rid of the age restriction rule. Either that or cancel gymnastics as an Olympic event, since it seems that most of the female athletes, whether 14 or 20, have been trained to death since they were toddlers.
