Posted on 08/17/2008 10:11:47 AM PDT by AJKauf
Not to say the Chinese are not cheating with respect to age, they could be, and I am sure it is right to suspect them, but -
They are Chinese. The average American or European in a crowd in Hong Kong cannot fail to understand the physical differences. There are racial differences in build, height, etc.
Even for a population that is selected for a given physique like competitive athletes are (there are no 6’ women competing after all), the people chosen will reflect to a degree on the available pool.
And in a population of 1 Billion of disproportionately slight build, if slightness is of value in a sport, then it stands to reason that they will find slighter girls than we do out of 300 Million who are disproportionately rubustly-built.
Let the Weak be Crushed!
LOL, that's what I think of the WNBA.
I KNOW! That guy who won the silver acted like he won the Gold..it was kind of embarrassing!!!
The bottom line is the 20 year old American who won LOOKED so much better, meaning she was graceful and experienced. Alot of girls have balance and can tumble, but a gymnist is supposed to look graceful and elegant while doing it!
Perv! /s
That's it in a nutshell.
They take these little girls away from their parents when they are babies, I believe about 3 years old.
They are intensely trained for years and live in gymnastic camps away from their parents.
One girl said she would like to see her parents more often; she sees them once a year.
Of course in most if not all cases, the parents are agreeable to the practices as it helps them be more acceptable to the oppressive communist dictatorship that is China.
Plus is is better than at 12 years old or so to be making the sneakers that the olympic contenders are wearing.
She did look gorgeous, and she managed to win despite getting ripped on her vault, bars, and beam scores.
It is good to see our girls triumph even while they are being cheated.
American girls develop at an earlier age than most Asians. My granddaughter is 12 and looks 17. I’m not kidding. She’s already 5’7”, 120lbs and a 34B. :-) She is often mistaken for a high school senior. She thinks it’s cool when guys in their 20’s flirt with her because they think she’s closer to their age. Me, I don’t think it’s so funny and I tell her so.
I don’t doubt that the Chinese cheat if it benefits them but they do tend to be smaller.
We have beens seeing plenty of chinese girls in our own country for many years now.
Many american couples are adopting vast numbers of abandoned little girls from chinese orphanages.
Many of those little girls have found their way into american gymastics programs.
If there is one group of asian children american gymnastics coaches have been exposed to the most - it would be chinese.
did you watch the competition?
What did your eyes tell you?
“Are they too young? They may be! But simple looks and comparisons side-by-side are not good indicators, especially when considering the genetic differences between races.”
Then this is a recent development in chinese gymnasts.
This controversy has only arisen in Athens and Beijing.
So - 16 year old chinese competitors from the past looked like teenagers - and now they don’t.
And chinese gymnasts living in american look their age, but chinese gymnasts in china do not.
Now they have baby teeth, and have even been reported as being younger in older chinese news articles.
That lookis like an old picture of Shawn Johnson, maybe from 2006 or 2007. She is now 16 years old.
LOL....the second biggest chicom troll on this forum makes its appearance.
As for the kid in undies comment, I am not sure what advantage a kid would have over an adolescent, but the rule is there for a reason.”
The younger ones are totally fearless, and they weigh considerably less, so balance is easier.
As gynmasts learn their routines, they grow “muscle memory”. As they mature, their larger breasts and wider hips can change how their routines that they have practiced for years get altered.
Muscle Memory is what gives you the ability to “always be able to ride a bike or a horse” if you ever learned as a kid. I am not saying those muscles are in great shape-—I am just saying “You never forget how to ride a bike or a horse”.
12 years ago, 15 year old American teens looked like 15 year olds. Now 12 year old American girls look like they are 17.
Our baseline of “teenager” has shifted. See Melinda’s post right above that you simply ignored to answer or address...
Anastatia/aka Nastia Liukin will turn 19 years old in November, I think. She’s officially listed as 18 years old. And, yes she is graceful and a great gymnast too. Both Nastia and Shawn were much better overall than the Chinese girl who came in third. That little girl got about 0.5 extra points on her balance beam routine which she did not earn, IMHO.
I don’t see a lot of curves on any of them, American or Chinese, because most gymnasts are not as developed as others their age, but the Chinese definitely look younger to me.
I work with a Korean lady that is almost 50 and looks 20. She has no curves and no wrinkles. Sometimes they just look younger. That’s why I can’t positively say the Chinese cheated unless tests were done to verify their ages.
Normally we kill our females at birth as they are not useful to the State, but for tricking you we always allow a few to survive!! Die you pathetic nation of sniveling Obamas! We shall conquer you and annihilate you!"
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