12/21/24
April 30, 2010
China Stripped of 2000 Bronze for Underage Gymnast: China has been stripped of a bronze medal from the 2000 Sydney Olympics for fielding an underage female gymnast, giving the women's team medal to the United States. Dong Fangxiao was only 14 at the games, the International Olympic Committee determined. The minimum age for gymnasts to compete is 16.
Unfortunately the IOC couldn't just sweep this one under the rug, not with the evidence so blatant. Although I imagine their of the 2008 gymnasts went something like this:
IOC: Are your gymnasts old enough to compete?
China: Yes.
IOC: Great. Case closed.
I don't think anyone who watched those Olympics believes for one second He Kexin was anywhere near 14 years old.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 05:02 PM on April 30, 2010
Good...
posted by StarFucker at 12:07 AM on May 02, 2010
I don't think anyone who watched those Olympics believes for one second He Kexin was anywhere near 14 years old.
I had a hard time believing the whole team averaged 12.
posted by irunfromclones at 04:23 AM on May 04, 2010
So, the only reason China lost this medal is that the girl admitted her actual age. Why would this be any disincentive to China to continue this behavior? I don't believe the age of the girls in the 2008 Olympics were accurate, regardless if they showed the right paperwork or not.