Teenage Wasteland

As the Chinese women won the gymnastics team gold medal this week, controversy erupted again when Bela Karolyi (former Olympics gymnastics coach) called attention to the underage members of the Chinese team.

Olympic rules require that all competing gymnasts must be at least 16 years old during the year of their Olympic competition. But online records listing Chinese gymnasts and their ages contradict their passport information, indicating that female gymnasts Kexin He and YuYUn Jiang may be as young as 14.

Officials with the International Gymnastics Federation said that questions about He's age had been raised by Chinese news media, USA Gymnastics and fans of the sport, but that the Chinese authorities presented passport information to show that He is 16.

International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) officials have accepted the passports of the Chinese women, which indicate all are old enough to compete. Karolyi is originally from Romania, and he says falsifying documents is a common practice in totalitarian regimes such as Romania, Russia and other former Soviet bloc nations. An advantage for younger gymnasts is that they are lighter and, often, more fearless when they perform difficult maneuvers.

An investigation by the New York Times before the games 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 birthday as "1994.1.1."

Another registration list that is unblocked, dated Jan. 27, 2006, 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.

The other gymnast, Jiang, is listed on her passport - issued March 2, 2006 - as having been born on Nov. 1, 1991, which would make her 16. A different birth date, indicating Jiang is not yet 15, appears on a list of junior competitors from the Zhejiang Province sports administration. The list of athletes includes national identification card numbers into which birth dates are embedded. Jiang's national card number as it appears on this list shows her birth date as Oct. 1, 1993, which indicates that she will turn 15 in the fall, and would thus be ineligible to compete in the Beijing Games.

The IOC, which normally is quick to react to issues directly related to competition, is uncharacteristically quiet on the issue. However, that seems understandable, since the issues was raised months ago and closed when the Chinese produced the required passports. What we all should be incensed about is the Chinese government's willingness to fake their own official documents in their obsession to become the top medal winner of the games.

See this blog entry for many more details on the issue, including a discussion of the ethics issues raised by forcing underage girls to compete.