China's Olympic Fake Out

[Tez3]

The gymnastics has always been an issue though hasn't it? Way back when Olga Korbut was competeting and looked like a small girl despite being at least 17, ( I looked up her age now and she seems to have knocked a couple of years off as she was the same age as me a while back!) there were stories that the Soviet Bloc were giving their gymnasts drugs to delay puberty.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_controversies_in_gymnastics

 

[Xue Sheng]

I am not defending anyone here and maybe this is not the case but there is a cultural difference when it comes to age and the west and china.

In China (or at least the north), traditionally, when you are born you are 1 in the west when you are born you are 0.

When I meant my wife she was telling me she was a year older than she actually is buy western standards. She now follows western standards.

Is China aware of this difference in the age of a new born? Yes.

But another thing about China, unless the rules specifically express that a child is born at 0 and not 1 then I would not doubt that they would go with the Chinese way of thinking if it was to their advantage and they have a few thousand years of past practice to justify this way of thinking that a child is born at 1.

Not everyone thinks like us nor do they have the same views of things like we do, we may think we here in the west are the almighty powerful bearers of truth and justice but we ain’t thought of that way there.

Old Chinese saying

“Nothing good ever comes form the west”

Of course that is from around the time of the Boxer Rebelion

They are trying here with the Olympics and they likely do not have a full grasp on Western ideals but people are looking for ways to pick it apart in ways you generally do not see when the Olympics are in other countries but I also have no doubt that the Chinese are going to adhere "strictly" to the rules... however it all depends on how explicit the rules are and believe me they will know how to play that to their advantage.

 

[CoryKS]

It's interesting to hear that China has a 1-based age system rather than 0-based - my kid, who always wants to be a year older than he currently is, would love that!

Still, some of those girls like like they're 12. But I've long considered the Olympics to be a meeting of nations to showcase their cheating skills as well as their athletic skills, so none of this comes as a complete shock.

 

[Tez3]

It does make me laugh I admit, when countries protest about others cheating when every country is doing whatever it can to win. I think most countries who can afford it will go right to the edge of breaking rules if not over them to win. I watched the beach volleyball the other day ( not voluntarily, they had it on at work!) and they had two Brazilians playing for Georgia. they won their match. There's been a bit of changing nationalities going on.
The British boxing team while not cheating as such has however has been paid large salaries ( they've had about £70,000 each so far, approx $140000) sorry - training funding to just train for the Olympics. One didn't make weight and got sent home though. I believe the track and field athletes have been given even more. Is it cheating, gamemanship or good preparation?

 

[CoryKS]

I watched the beach volleyball the other day ( not voluntarily, they had it on at work!) and they had two Brazilians playing for Georgia.

Holy cow, that's a HUGE team!

 

[Xue Sheng]

It does make me laugh I admit, when countries protest about others cheating when every country is doing whatever it can to win. I think most countries who can afford it will go right to the edge of breaking rules if not over them to win. I watched the beach volleyball the other day ( not voluntarily, they had it on at work!) and they had two Brazilians playing for Georgia. they won their match. There's been a bit of changing nationalities going on.
The British boxing team while not cheating as such has however has been paid large salaries ( they've had about £70,000 each so far, approx $140000) sorry - training funding to just train for the Olympics. One didn't make weight and got sent home though. I believe the track and field athletes have been given even more. Is it cheating, gamemanship or good preparation?

How much do you think the average player on the US basketball team made last year

 

[Xue Sheng]

Still, some of those girls like like they're 12. But I've long considered the Olympics to be a meeting of nations to showcase their cheating skills as well as their athletic skills, so none of this comes as a complete shock.

As a friend of mine from China said the other day (and he is 40) 13, 14 how do they know, most westerns think I’m 20

 

[Tez3]

Holy cow, that's a HUGE team!

LOL! there are only two in a team! I really think you need to watch the beach volleyball for yourself...for research of course rofl!In the meantime some photos to help...... I don't think you're ready for the videos yet!


http://www.pbase.com/rebelxt/girlsbeachvolleyball

 

[Tez3]

How much do you think the average player on the US basketball team made last year

I can guess! The boxers though are supposed to be amateurs and the money paid to them is tax payers money. The basketball players at least get it from being employed, I was going to say earned it but like our soccer players you can hardly say that can you?

 

[Tames D]

I can guess! The boxers though are supposed to be amateurs and the money paid to them is tax payers money. The basketball players at least get it from being employed, I was going to say earned it but like our soccer players you can hardly say that can you?

Poor Jim Thorpe.

 

[jks9199]

I don't get what happened to the supposed-amateur status of Olympic athletes...

Granted, in some places like China, or for some of the very heavily subsidized US athletes, even the "amateurs" that are living their entire life dedicated to preparing for their sports are kind of "professional", I don't get how some of these people qualify...

 

[Andrew Green]

got tossed out the window:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Games#Amateurism_and_professionalism

 

[MA-Caver]

The Olympics’ age-old problem

By Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports Aug 14, 8:51 pm EDT



BEIJING – For a long time, elements of the Chinese government itself thought women’s gymnast He Kexin was born Jan. 1, 1994, which would make her 14 and too young to compete in these Summer Olympics.
Whether it was repeated mentions in the government-controlled media – including a new one uncovered Friday by the Associated Press – or on official gymnastic meet registration forms and websites, He was “this little girl” and a “new star.”
As recently as December 2007, in provincial gymnastics meets and news reports that covered it, she was a 13-year-old prodigy, too young for the 16-year-old Olympic age limit for gymnastics.
Then, suddenly, she wasn’t.
http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/be...slug=dw-gymnastsage081408&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

And the beat goes on...

 

[Phoenix44]

If you have a few minutes, read this article about the lip-synching thing. The author, a Canadian journalist born in China, was on radio yesterday. She said that not only was the actual 7 year old singer shocked that they were using her voice with another girl lip-synching, but the lip-syncher wasn't aware that it was not her own voice that was being broadcast!

http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/opinion/yang-peiyi-youre-not-ugly-they-are-2909.html

 

[MA-Caver]

If you have a few minutes, read this article about the lip-synching thing. The author, a Canadian journalist born in China, was on radio yesterday. She said that not only was the actual 7 year old singer shocked that they were using her voice with another girl lip-synching, but the lip-syncher wasn't aware that it was not her own voice that was being broadcast!

http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/opinion/yang-peiyi-youre-not-ugly-they-are-2909.html

PSYCHE!
It's one thing to psyche out the whole world but a little 7 yr. old girl?? For shame!