I have always loved watching the Olympics. The pagentry, the intense competition, the sportsmanship -- it's a wonderful event that I wish took place every year instead of every four.
This year, as I was watching the women's gymnastics competition, something seemed a little out of place. Having three daughters, I consider myself somewhat qualified to guestimate the ages of my daughters' friends. There is no way I would suspect that several of the "women" on the Chinese gymnastics team were anywhere near 16. Several look as young as 12. For one in particular, I suspected the ring from the potty seat hadn't completely worn off yet.
Today, the Associated Press dug into allegations that the Chinese women are actually girls. Olympic rules require that gymnastic competitors be at least 16 years of age. When the AP researched the individual team members using China's official news agency, they uncovered evidence that the spandex is being pulled over the eyes of world.
The Associated Press discovered a report on China's government-run Xinhua Web site that labeled gymnast He Kexin as one of "10 big new stars," reporting that she turned 13 on Nov. 3, 2007.
The AP saved a copy of the Web page, which is now inaccessible. Questions have been raised about the ages of He's teammates, although Chinese officials maintain that all are at least 16. A May 23 story in China Daily, the official English-language newspaper of the country, reported He was 14. A correction ran the following day, changing her age to 16.
Dads, look at the picture below and tell me if these young women are really at least 16 years of age.
