Have these people never heard of governments falsifying documents?  HELLO????

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BEIJING (AP) — Despite persistent questions about the ages of several members of the Chinese women’s gymnastics team that won the gold medal, the International Olympic Committee said Friday there is still no proof anyone cheated.

The IOC asked the International Gymnastics Federation to investigate “what have been a number of questions and apparent discrepancies,” spokeswoman Giselle Davies said.

“So far, everything that has been received demonstrates we have no problem for the eligibility of the competitors,” said Christophe Dubi, the IOC’s sports director.

If the federation had found evidence that the gymnasts were underage, it could have affected four of China’s medals. In addition to the team gold and He Kexin’s gold on bars, Yang Yilin won bronze medals in the all-around and uneven bars.

Chinese coach Lu Shanzhen told The Associated Press they gave the FIG new documents on Thursday to try to remove any doubts about He’s age, including an old passport, residency card and her current ID card.

Lu said all the documents were issued by various departments of the Chinese government, and that he had nothing more to put forth as evidence.

The FIG has said repeatedly that a passport is the “accepted proof of a gymnast’s eligibility,” and that China’s gymnasts have presented ones that show they are age eligible. The IOC also checked the girls’ passports and deemed them valid.

Andrei Gueisbuhler, secretary general of the FIG, said the federation would release a statement later Friday.

“For the time being, there is nothing I can add,” Gueisbuhler said.

A gymnast must be 16 in an Olympic year to compete at the games. But questions about the ages of at least three of the athletes have persisted. Online records and media reports suggest three Chinese gymnasts — He, Yang and Jiang Yuyuan — might be as young as 14.

The IOC said previously that it had verified the passports of all athletes competing at the games.

“We are not in a position to say ‘It’s good, it’s not good.’ It’s a government document,” FIG president Bruno Grandi said earlier this week in an interview with the AP.

The IOC did not give details on what new information prompted it to act now, three days after the gymnastics competition ended.

“With some questions still remaining, we asked the federation to take a closer look,” Davies said.

The Chinese women won six medals, including the team gold and He’s gold on uneven bars. Media reports include a Nov. 3 story by the Chinese government’s news agency, Xinhua, that suggest He is only 14. Asked earlier this week about her age again after winning the uneven bars title, beating American Nastia Liukin in a tiebreak, she said:

“I was born in 1992, and I’m 16 years old now,” He said. “The FIG has proved that. If I’m under 16, I couldn’t have been competing here.”

Earlier this month, the AP found registration lists previously posted on the Web site of the General Administration of Sport of China that showed both He and Yang were too young to compete. He was born Jan. 1, 1994, according to the 2005, 2006 and 2007 registration lists. Yang was born Aug. 26, 1993, according to the 2004, 2005 and 2006 registration lists. In the 2007 registration list, however, her birthday has changed to Aug. 26, 1992.

“We played fair at this Olympic Games,” Liukin’s father and coach, Valeri, said after they arrived back in the United States. “… If somebody cheated, shame on them.”

Added Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics: “USA Gymnastics has always believed this issue needed to be addressed by the FIG and IOC. An investigation would help bring closure to the issue and remove any cloud of speculation from this competition.”

Age falsification has been a problem in gymnastics since the 1980s after the minimum age was raised from 14 to 15 to protect young athletes from serious injuries. The minimum age was raised to its current 16 in 1997. Younger gymnasts are considered to have an advantage because they are more flexible, and are likely to have an easier time doing the tough skills the sport requires. They also aren’t as likely to have a history of injuries or fear of failure.

North Korea was barred from the 1993 world championships after FIG officials discovered Kim Gwang Suk, the gold medalist on uneven bars in 1991, was listed as 15 for three years in a row. Romania admitted in 2002 that several gymnasts’ ages had been falsified, including Olympic medalists Gina Gogean and Alexandra Marinescu.

Even China’s own Yang Yun, a double bronze medalist in Sydney, said during an interview aired on state broadcaster China Central Television that she was 14 in 2000.

So an intrepid reporter managed to find an article on a Chinese sports website reporting one of the Chinese gymnasts age as 13.  Within an hour, the specific article has been removed and could not longer be found, but the reporter had copied it.  The Chinese will not and have not responded to it citing that the Olympic uses passports to establish age….coz you know…those can’t be falsified.

I cannot understand why nothing is being done about this.  This is tantamount to cheating.  If we test athletes for steroids as a mandatory post-medal step – not to mention question athletes who win too many golds at one Olympics – then why are we not enforcing and testing aging of athletes.

If the rules says you must be 16, then you need to be 16.  As far as I am concerned, the women’s team should have their medals completely stripped off of them.

EDIT:  There is some screwy judging going on with the women’s individual all around.  I am reminded of the last winter Olympics and the controversy of the pairs skating scores.  I am getting the same feeling as some gymnasts are getting either higher or lower scores than they deserve…and it seems to be favoring the Chinese and screwing over the Americans.  I am no expert, but when you do more body checks than your competitor on the balance beam and end up with a higher score for a less difficult routine…that sends signals that something is not right.  This would not be the first time that there has been a issue with gymnastics judging as they changed the scoring methodology specifically because the previous system came under so much criticism and suspicion.

There is some serious shadiness and I hope someone lodges a complaint or asks for an investigation.  Dis be fukked up yo.

So the brewing controversy that seems to be swept under the rug is the age requirements in women’s gymnastics.

The qualifying age is 16.  But if you look at the Chinese team….there is NO way several of them are 16.  In fact, they are 14 but thanks to uncontested falsifications of documents and the IOA not requiring proof documentation, nothing will be done about it.

Granted, gymnasts like Nadia Comenici were 14 when they competed and I am not sure why and when the age requirements were instituted (and I think it’s pointless), but there is a certain resiliency and advantage between a 14 and a 16 year-old.

And what’s with competitors whose parents were former Olympic atheletes for different countries, such as Nastia Liukin’s father.  And come one…why would you name your child Nastia.  That is like a ghetto hair weave recipe for disaster.  Despite the pride in American dominance in all things human, if you look closely at accolades and award in the past year, you can see that America is…well…sucking.

The Oscars?  All four major acting award went to non-Americans.

Music?  Singers like Amy Winehouse, US, Ronson, Adele and more are making bigger waves than American singers.  I mean if the next big news is a new Britney or Mariah CD, then there is a problem.

I don’t knooooooow…..

And why was Dubya wiping the back of women’s volleyball phenom Traener?  Huh???

And WHY do all the U.S. female gymnasts sound like totaly airhead dweebs?  Listen to them.  And don’t get me started on the diving pair….Ready?  Ok!  1, 2, GO!

I am not lying.

I am watching G Dubya on NBC trying to get through an Olympics interview.  It has been a long time since I have seen him speak because, frankly, I don’t think he has anything intelligent to say and although his speeches are fodder for ridicule and humor, it just gets hackneyed….but this is golden.  The man is truly an idiot.  Why is he talking about religion for the Chinese?  Does he understand the role of religion in China?  And talking about the Chinese interfacing with other world athletes.  Interfacing?  Are they Dell Pentium II chips?

I can’t wait until he is out of office.

The opening ceremonies were out of this world.  Probably the best of all the ceremonies I have seen.  Just incredible – despite my feelings about the Olympics being in China, I can still appreciate their artistry.  Especially when it comes to their divers.

The gymnastics, however, are turning into a trainwreck with the Chinese AND Americans performing as if in an Opium phase.

I am slowly slipping into an Olympics haze myself.  I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!!!