Posted on 03/16/2009 7:26:26 AM PDT by biscuit jane
Bone tests on teenage Chinese athletes have shown that thousands had faked their age, often in order to keep competing in junior events.
A study in the southern province of Guangdong found one in five had lied, with some discovered to be seven years older than their registered age.
For talented young people from poorer areas in China, sports tournaments can offer a chance to make a better life...
(Excerpt) Read more at freerepublic.com ...
Oddly enough I’d bet a fortune that many of their athletes during the Olympics were YOUNGER than claimed.
“making a better life...”
is often the excuse for all kinds of bad behavior, but in this case I am surprised because I thought the communist system was supposed to provide sufficiently so that one didn’t need to aspire to “a better life”.
Why, I’m shocked! Shocked, I tell you! <sarc
Paging Captain Obvious.....Paging Captain Obvious...
Links don’t work.
Ugh. Dude. Forced BONE TESTS.
Chicomms suck so bad.
Didn't you know communism works it just hasn't been applied right.
IIRC, many thought that many of the Chinese gymnastic females were underage.
I thought it strange that others would be claiming that, since the Chinese were beating them at most gymnastic competitions.
They were dishonest? Who knew?!
Younger female gymnists have an advantage because the flexibility of youth is more important than strength in many of their events (not so even for male gymnists esp. on the rings). The international rules making body for gymnastics set a minimum age for international competitions. I don't know of any other event where you would hit your peak at such a young age, but there are many sports where you can get more wins and attention from being the only fifteen year old on a twelve year old team thus the incentive to cheat by claiming a young age.
I did something like that in Little League. All the 9-12 year olds were in one pool with the best in the "major" league and the worst (or youngest) in the "minor" league. I started orginized baseball late (age 12), so I was automatically put in the minor league since it was my first year. I looked like a freak out there with a bunch of 9 and 10 year olds. When I moved up the the 13-15 year group the next year, I learned I wasn't the hottest thing on the field.
You know, the other day the young’uns wanted to watch “Big”, the old movie where Tom Hanks turns into an adult overnight. And we ran into the question: let’s say you’re 13, you wake up one morning and you’re a full-grown adult. How could you tell how “old” you were? 20, 25, 30 35? If you went down to a doctor and asked, what would they look for.
Obviously, the answer is to go to China and have them gouge chunks out of your bones and count the rings or whatever. Should’ve known.
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