Monday, August 11, 2008
Obama Not The Only One With Birth Certificate Issues
Watching NBC's coverage of the women's Olympic gymnastic competition, I was struck by how young several of the Chinese team members appeared. The commentators noted that questions had been raised about whether at least three of the Chinese gymnasts had actually reached the age of 16 as required by Olympic rules. It seems their national ID cards indicate they are 16, but other public records seem to suggest they are younger. The International Olympic Committee won't investigate the obvious. The Chinese team, legitimate or not, appears poised to walk away with the lion's share of gold medals.
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The women had a tough night against the Chinese. Bela Karoyli pulled no punches about the age of the chinese. The IOC says they can not check the ages of all 11,000 athletes.
But guess what - starting NEXT YEAR every Junior olympic gymnast will need a gymnastics passport.
Though saying that he is confident there are no underage athletes competing here, Grandi ( president of FIG, the international governing body of gymnastics ) said that beginning next year, FIG will issue licenses to all junior and senior gymnasts. The license will be based on passport information.
What makes it different than the current system is that gymnasts entered in any FIG-sanctioned junior competition will need the license. Now, ages aren't verified in junior competitions.
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