USA vs China girls Gymnastics

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

I think the issue was the girls should not be allowed to compete because the minimum age for this olympics is 16 in gymnastics

Can I correct that slightly. They have to be 16 in the year the Olympics are held. One of the Chinese girls is actually 15 but will be 16 later this year.

They won because on the day they were the best.

I know that - but there was (apparently) paperwork from other competitions suggesting they were as young as 14. The gap of 2 years is huge in womens gymnastics.

I wouldn't deny the Chinese team were better - the US girls did not deserve to win with those mistakes.

yeah. China cheated.

[Aubrey 10]

I agree with many of you -- there were several Chinese gymnasts that didn't look 16. I wouldn't be surprised one bit if this was the case. Even regardless of this likely cheating the age limit, I wouldn't be too hard on the USA team. Keep in mind that they had last minute injuries that kept one girl completely from competition and another only could participate in uneven bars. They send 6 to allow for the best in each event to perform, so the team really had extra pressure.

I saw a lot of big mistakes in both teams, tbh, and the overall performance wasn't that great compared to previous years. Not many clean routines, lots of falls, bobbles, and stepping out of bounds. Lots of nerves all around. Really, I was surprised at it all, and I've followed women's gymnastics closely all my life.

Oh well, I've got to watch some smashing good men's gymnastics to make up for it.

[Yiyi and Chris 0]

Whether they were 16 or not they were awsome and they really deserve GOLD!!! It was painfull to see USA get silver, but definetly China deserve what they got!!

[Sassy1natl 0]

Exactly. Don't try to find excuses...just admit that the Chinese performed superbly. I could care less how old they are, they are awesome. We choked, plain and simple. Suck it up and move on.

[idocare 3]

I heard on CNN that many of the girl are taken from their parents at a very young fragile age and the and their coaches are with them from as young as 3-year old. I couldn't imagine giving my 3-year old son over to trainers and only seeing him once or twice a year.

[almaty 19]

china won...and needed no help from anybody

[Ban Hammer 13,098]

I heard on CNN that many of the girl are taken from their parents at a very young fragile age and the and their coaches are with them from as young as 3-year old. I couldn't imagine giving my 3-year old son over to trainers and only seeing him once or twice a year.

if you were chinese you'd not have a choice.

[Empress of Groovy 373]

I didn't realize that younger gymnasts were considered to have such a distinct advantage. If that's the case, then China very likely cheated. The Chinese gymnasts were fantastic, it's true, but if even a couple of those girls were as young as they looked, and being 13 or 14 as opposed to 16 is a significant advantage, it was clearly an unfair competition. If some of the U.S.'s best 13- or 14-year-olds could have competed, the outcome may have been different.

The all-around should be good...

[rclouse 0]

Whether they were 16 or not they were awsome and they really deserve GOLD!!! It was painfull to see USA get silver, but definetly China deserve what they got!!

There's a reason why the minimum age is 16, just like there's a reason why steroids and other performance enhancing drugs are prohibited. If we competed with an underage team maybe we'd have beaten their underage team. But we played by the rules, they didn't.

The Chinese cheated and their gold should be stripped just like Ben Johnson's and Marion Jones' were.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Whether they were 16 or not they were awsome and they really deserve GOLD!!! It was painfull to see USA get silver, but definetly China deserve what they got!!

There's a reason why the minimum age is 16, just like there's a reason why steroids and other performance enhancing drugs are prohibited. If we competed with an underage team maybe we'd have beaten their underage team. But we played by the rules, they didn't.

The Chinese cheated and their gold should be stripped just like Ben Johnson's and Marion Jones' were.

Yup. China cheated.

[Sassy1natl 0]

china won...and needed no help from anybody

Nope. Look at our performances....teh suk

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

There is an advantage to being underage. Of course hating America overrides this....

[LaGreenEyes 0]

Well one of the "best" chinese just fell on her booty on the vault...so...I'm thinking USA could get gold tonight..with another USA silver or bronze..or Chinese..and I think that Rumanian girl may have a shot at something.

[Jenn! 918]

Wow! Liukin, Johnson, gold, silver. How fantastic!

Too bad I fell asleep! All the good stuff is on so late!

[pedroh 21]

Wow! Liukin, Johnson, gold, silver. How fantastic!

Too bad I fell asleep! All the good stuff is on so late!

i saw them compete last night, they were very good..