2008 Beijing Summer Olympics

[darvil]

The problem of age isn't what we PERSONALLY "feel". Fact is. Its written in the rules and the Chinese are breaking it. Now it isn't as big a deal in my book IF an athlete lies about her age and got in the games. The problem is that, the Chinese government or at least those on the top are involved in this masquerade. There was a newspaper article about one of the girl's age and that web link was wiped out and the press itself refuse to comment on the "typo". We all know the order must have come from the upper power to shut something like this down. This is absolutely shameful.

Now personally I think the age rule is ridiculous and it should be reduced. Have you guys seen the video of a gymnast who got a perfect 10 in the 1970s? She was 14. but fact is.. rules are there and it needs to be followed.

Did you guys see that one event where the Chinese swimmer (Pang I think, who won) was disqualified because she dove in the water a split second (and I mean it was literally a split second) sooner then the rest? If we are going to be so harsh on something like this then the girls should be disqualified for all the advantages they get from joining the event at such a young age.

 

[mizterkevin]

Would it be any better if China wasn't winning medals in gymnastics?

Yeah I agree and I understand that the problem isn't with the actual rule about age limits, but within the fact that they're supposedly lying about her age (and their government is backing them up). I know the reporter is someone who's well known, if I'm correct, but what if they really did have a typo? If they would've just left it there, would that be practical?

I don't see what the big deal is, okay so what..they broke a rule, are they really cheating?

The rule needs to be justified before they can make such a big deal out of it.

 

[Liberty]

Rules are rules, they're there for a reason.
If you break a rule, it's pretty much like cheating. We don't know why they have age limits for gymnists, maybe being younger helps.

As for the swimming thing, we all know from watching the Olympics, that every second counts; so even a split second advantage is something to be disqualified for.

 

[mizterkevin]

But what's the reason? I don't know, I feel bad for China.

 

[noungning]

Did you guys see that one event where the Chinese swimmer (Pang I think, who won) was disqualified because she dove in the water a split second (and I mean it was literally a split second) sooner then the rest? If we are going to be so harsh on something like this then the girls should be disqualified for all the advantages they get from joining the event at such a young age.

yeah i saw that, and it wasn't that she dove in too fast, it was a movement she made with her head. when the buzz goes on they are to be still and not have any kind of movement. but she moved her head. and they saw it, and she got d/q.

with age, there are some girls that are 15 too. dunno. young - more flexible can do many. old - many experiences and can do many too... should be even?

yeah go the girls, nastia did a great job, she was so good on the beam.

 

[darvil]

Well I feel bad for the girls because they don't really have a choice in this. When the whole country is pressuring you there isn't much room to wiggle out of. But I'm seriously pissed at those people in power.

I think there are many reasons as to why the age limit was imposed. I don't completely understand it to be honest but I do believe there are some advantages of being young.

Check out this link for example http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qi...14091514AAc9EjB

Of course you could make a lot of arguments but there IS a point to be made about the advantages.

As for the newspaper thing, it isn't the first time they've done it. Of course you can make a typo.. but when the typo is erased and then NOBODY wants to make a comment about the typo.. it really makes you think.

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/gym...tory?id=3534544

I'm making these comments not because I think the girls *cheated* but rather I'm am pissed at rule breaking which is absolutely not in the spirit of the Olympics. I don't even think too much about people juicing up in NFL or baseball for that matter because in a weird way it is expected. I just place the olympics on a much higher level of pureness and it concerns me.

And Ning I watched the rerun of the dive. That Pang girl did in fact moved. Not just her head but you can see that she moved; big no no.

 

[max]

I honestly believe that if the United States had won gold instead of China, this would not even be that big of an issue.

I do not know if China is cheating or not, but I really hope that they are not. I am a very big fan of Chinese gymnastics, but I admit that I will be very upset that China did cheat.

At the same time, I feel really bad for the Chinese gymnasts. Like someone stated above, if they did lie about their age, most likely it was from the pressure of their coaches or something like that. They do not really have control over it.

I am really angry about this whole issue, though. There are several people posting extremely harsh comments about these girls. I remember reading one comment stating that these girls are the lucky ones who were not aborted or forced to work in a factory. Like what kind of sh.t is that?

Also, I do feel that it is unfair. It may be possible that these Chinese gymnasts are actually 16 even though they look really young. This is because, like I stated before, one of my sisters is 27. She is 4"11' and weighs about 83 pounds. She looks like she is 17 years old, and she still gets "carded" like crazy. If the officials want to examine the age of these Chinese gymnasts, they should examine the age of the gymnasts from every nation that is participating in this event.

 

[Khatiya]

I've been watching the Olympics alot (like NBC is almost on 18hrs a day!). When I first saw the Chinese Team gymnastic first impression was WOW, so young and tiny. Even the spokeperson (for NBC) mentioned about the question of their age. So they were doubting this too at the start of the competition. This was LIVE. Just want to emphasis this since someone had ask if the Chinese didn't win would they doubt this. Again, it was doubt from the start.

Also as many of you have said, it's probably a cover up from the government. The government has a final say. So even if the Team agent has proof (when they first join the academy or something) the government can still over ride it. After all it's the government that issue IDs and passport, right? But again, the Chinese government under estimate the power of people's mind and action especially their fellow Chinese. I mean, who will know these girls better than their parent, friends and teacher? Those people are the one who gave birth, hung out with them and taught them all these lesson. For example, they have childhood friends who might of been born during the same time or same year. So, all the sudden the other friend is 2-3 years ahead? Not to say that their friends will back stab them, but words might of gotten around in their villages or something.

This is the 2nd (or is it 3rd?) time that the world is speculating China in this 2008 Bejing Olympics. If the government did fake those girls age... it's totally wrong. Just show that China is unfair to their people and full of lies.

 

[darvil]

I honestly believe that if the United States had won gold instead of China, this would not even be that big of an issue.

I agree with this statement and unfortunately it is true on almost every occasion on every event that may have some controversial tone about it. You can go back in time to see all sorts of examples. But this argument does not in any way minimize the sin that is committed. I'm all for imposing the SAME standard on everyone. If if it was the USA doing this I would be all over their ass. But you can bet there will be plenty of US supporters who will just shrug and say "big deal".

 

[noungning]

lol well u know usa rules and all else drool hahahah. whateva!

well, throughout the gymnastics, i thought the scoring was very bias. but i guess in the end, skills from one was better than another.

BUT OMG OMG OMG did anyone else jump from phelps 7th gold medal swim yesterday, the one where he won by .01 sec?!??! dang it was awesome!!!

then today, he won his 8th medal making history. single person to ever win all 8 gold medals in swimming. hotness.

 

[ohitsnoyyy]

lol well u know usa rules and all else drool hahahah. whateva!

well, throughout the gymnastics, i thought the scoring was very bias. but i guess in the end, skills from one was better than another.

BUT OMG OMG OMG did anyone else jump from phelps 7th gold medal swim yesterday, the one where he won by .01 sec?!??! dang it was awesome!!!

then today, he won his 8th medal making history. single person to ever win all 8 gold medals in swimming. hotness.

ohh man i didn't watch it live but i saw the highlights! mannn that was crazy! he actually won! it look like he didn't make it but goodness! thank you for technology!

He is indeed hottt!! Congrats to his 8th win tonight!!! :dude:

 

[raymond_obsessed]

I should've come here to ramble about how great Michael Phelps is...I've been following him since the 2004 Olympics in Athens, and I'm so proud of him!!!! 14 gold medals all to himself, and 8 this year...he broke any and all records or doubts anyone had...Watching him win by 0.01 second was so intense for me, when I thought he lost...I was so excited to see he made it first, and too bad Cavic thought he won, but he didn't...he keeps talking about it, such a sore loser, no grace at all, so arrogant...That's what people get for talking trash about America and our Michael Phelps...everyone who's ever said anything about him has eaten their words and more...(clears throat) Ian Thorpe, France's swim team, and lastly, Cavic of Serbia...Michael is the best, and he will forever will be the best, this man was born to swim, if you guys didn't know...Oh, I just love it, I've been collecting newspaper articles about Michael since 2004, wish I could've seen his at the World Championships though...watching Michael this past week has been so inspiring...he has showed me and the world that anything is possible, and no matter who you're up against, or what people say, as long as you believe it, then you really can do anything...I'm so inspired by him, and so happy to see him achieve his dream...I'm glad I got to experience this piece of history...

BTW, loved the women's all-around championship, and Nastia Luikin was flawless, she deserved the gold...I was totally rooting for Shawn Johnson, but there's no way she could've gotten gold even if she was flawless too, because her start value was lower than Nastia's...Did you see Nastia's dismounts on all of her events? Flawless, that girl sure does know how to stick it...it was so exciting to watch...I tried to watch the men's, but it bored me to sleep...I'm glad America won gold and silver, though, those girls are so talented.

 

[cecilia]

^haha. you're here blabbing about Michael P. lol ..
i know what you mean, i was rooting for him as well.
today ceremony is awesome as well .. the smile on his face. wow.
i didn't watch the women swimming team but i heard about the girl.
she did a great job as well.

as for the gymnastic part. i was rooting for both the girls.
so glad i get to see it -- they both deserve the price.
love how they make USA history --1st time ever to be gold/silver together : a job well done at the olympic.

oh, the male track team was awesome. that jaimaca guy did such an awesome run for the man 100 .. it's like me watching him attempting to fly with those long step/runs. :loool:

 

[Khatiya]

Now that swimming is coming to an end, what other sports interest you?

I've been following the beach volleyball games so looking forward to watch those finals.

 

[cecilia]

so who won today's match between brazil and usa?

 

[7270]

dang. phelps won the 8 out 8 gold medals? dang...! so is he retiring after this? or what's he going to do?

i watched women's track last night. jamaica basically swept. so much skill... so much. B) i can't wait for gymnastics to end on wed./thurs. so i can get some sleep.

 

[noungning]

lol yeah phelps is wonderful.

aww last night, the floor exercises, i was rooting for shawn johnson, but the romania chick came last and won the gold! ahhh but she still got a silver. go her!

other sports that i'm into? i like em all haha but i gotta say, some of them are quite boring lol. i watched fencing yesterday, france won gold. kevin tried to do a comeback but was cut short. boo. lol

water polo is probably one of the sports i find boring, but i watched a match between china and ummm i don't remember. i think it was usa.

i want to watch some more basketball and soccer. i just saw the china and dutchland match in chinese language lol on my digital cable haha. i was desperate because they didn't air it on english... blah. haha my sleep hours have changed from 12.30am to about 2am now. so exhausting.

 

[little]

i like to watch gymnastics, swimming. shawn didn't win last night at least she's get silver too bad the chinese girls didn't get it she fell on her butt

 

[anti-hmong]

anyone else pissed off with the scoring of the girls gymnastics???...errrrrrrrrr...damn judges...i say nastia should've gotten gold for the individual girls on the uneven bar and alicia should've gotten the bronze for the vault instead of the girl from china...considering she landed on her knees...errrrrrrrrrrrr...overall, throughout the girl's gymnastics so far...the scoring has pissed me off...i think they're totally unfair infavor of china over U.S....china has made so many mistakes but yet they keep getting higher scores than U.S....

 

[mizterkevin]

Yeah, like the guy said...the judges really don't have that much experience because they have to have judges that aren't from the countries competing.

I thought that other girl in light blue was amazing, too bad she fell. And then there was Britain...haha, she's so big.