IOC strips 2000 Games bronze medal from China

[Isolder74]

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IOC strips 2000 Games bronze medal from China
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By Stephen Wilson, AP Sports Writer
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — China was stripped of a bronze medal from the 2000 Sydney Olympics on Wednesday for fielding an underage gymnast. The medal was given to the United States instead.
The International Olympic Committee acted after investigations by the sport's governing body determined that Dong Fangxiao was only 14 at the 2000 Games. Gymnasts must turn 16 during the Olympic year to be eligible.

"I'm really just proud to know that justice prevailed," said Dominique Dawes, a member of the U.S. squad in 2000. "My teammates are very well-deserving of the bronze medal, and I'm sure each and every one of us will be thrilled. We will cherish it."

Dong's results from Sydney were nullified in February by the International Gymnastics Federation. Because her scores contributed to China winning the team bronze, the FIG recommended that the IOC take the medal back.

As expected, the IOC executive board upheld the request and formally stripped the medal on the first day of a two-day meeting in Dubai.

The U.S. women, who had been fourth, move up to the bronze.

The IOC said Dong also was stripped of her sixth-place result in the individual floor exercises and seventh place in the vault.

Calls to the Chinese Gymnastics Association and the media officers for the Chinese gymnastics team went unanswered Wednesday. Dong now lives in New Zealand with her husband.

The IOC ordered China's national Olympic committee to return the team medals "as soon as possible" so they can be reallocated to the U.S. team.

It also told the Chinese to "ensure, by all means, that the athletes and officials of its delegation comply with all rules and regulations (of the international federation) particularly with regard to age limits."

"I never imagined in all my years of gymnastics that a decade following one of my Olympic Games I'd actually get a medal possibly shipped to me in the mail," said Dawes, who will now have one gold and three bronzes from the 1992, 1996 and 2000 games.

The bronze medal salvages what had been a disappointing Olympics for the U.S. women. The squad Dawes, Amy Chow, Jamie Dantzscher, Kristin Maloney, Elise Ray and Tasha Schwikert left Sydney empty-handed, the only time since 1976 the American women had failed to win a single Olympic medal. The U.S. boycotted the 1980 Moscow Games.

"Sydney was a beautiful Olympics, they did a great job. But it was hard when people would ask, 'What medal did you guys get?'" Schwikert said. "It's going to be nice to say, 'We did get a medal. We got the bronze in Sydney.'"

Questions about Dong's eligibility arose during the FIG's investigation into the ages of the Chinese team that won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Games. Media reports and Internet records suggested some of the girls could have been as young as 14.

The FIG cleared the Beijing Games gymnasts in October 2008 after Chinese officials provided original passports, ID cards and family registers showing all of the gymnasts were old enough to compete. But the FIG said it wasn't satisfied with "the explanations and evidence provided to date" for Dong and a second gymnast, Yang Yun.

Dong's accreditation information for the Beijing Olympics, where she worked as a national technical official, listed her birthday as Jan. 23, 1986. That would have made her 14 in Sydney too young to compete. Her birth date in the FIG database is listed as Jan. 20, 1983.

Dong's blog also said she was born in the Year of the Ox in the Chinese zodiac, which dates from Feb. 20, 1985, to Feb. 8, 1986.

FIG investigators didn't find sufficient evidence to prove Yang, who also won a bronze medal on uneven bars in 2000, was underage. She received a warning from the FIG.

"We are extremely grateful that the IOC and the FIG have taken such a thorough look at the issues that were raised in Beijing," said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. "It serves the best interests of sports to make sure there's always a fair field of play."

More great humor from the guys that had a girl lip sync during the opening ceremony!

Considering that it was in direct violation of the rules, I don't feel to bad about it. I feel bad for her that she doesn't get to keep the medal but the fact that she was put forward by her country is was is the problem here. They rather then wait until she was eligible, pushed her into competition to try and earn as many medals as possible.

Bear in mind these are the same guys that dubbed over the girl singing at the opening ceremony because while having a good signing voice she wasn't 'pretty' enough to get to actually stand on stage. Why? So that they would put forward the right image, whatever that means.

[Uraniun235]

Why is there an age limit?

[Oni Koneko Damien]

Why is there an age limit?

Ideologically, I'd say because the Olympics are supposed to represent the best of the best, but more importantly, the best who made the conscious choice to be that way and trained for it. Though 'legal' age varies from country to country, most would agree that being younger than a certain age removes ones ability to make informed consent about those matters.

Technically, it's a biological fact that young'uns' bodies are different from adults. If the fact that someone's biological age grants them an advantage in a physical competition, rather than the skills and training they worked for, it's categorically unfair to the other competitors, and said person should rather be in a competition with people on a more equal footing.

[General Zod]

Why is there an age limit?

Their justification seems to supposedly be that younger gymnasts might have an unfair advantage. It sounds fishy, though I could probably see arguments for making sure gymnasts are competing with athletes of skills on par with their own.

[Phantasee]

The younger girls are a lot more flexible, naturally, than the older ones. So it's an unfair advantage. The idea is that by 16 most girls are already well into puberty and any advantage one has over another is mostly from training and practise.

[Thanas]

Health concerns might also play a role.

[Isolder74]

I think the biggest problem people see about this is someone who entered the Games fairly did not get the chance to win this medal because someone won it that wasn't doing so according to the rules.

[Sea Skimmer]

The younger girls are a lot more flexible, naturally, than the older ones. So it's an unfair advantage. The idea is that by 16 most girls are already well into puberty and any advantage one has over another is mostly from training and practise.

Actually the main reason is that the increased flexibility of young bodies makes them much more vulnerable to long term injuries from doing high impact floor routines over and over again. That is particularly the case when you have kids from a place like China that will think nothing of drilling them on the same routine thirty times per day, every day.

The original age limit for Olympic Gymnastics was IIRC 14 until the 1980s, and it was then pushed up twice one year at a time over health concerns.

[LadyTevar]

NOTE: This was for the 2000 Olympics, held in Sydney Australia, not the one in China. It took 10yrs fro the IOC to make this decision. The article quoted specifically states that Dong Fangxiao is now living with her husband in Australia. That right there should have made people realize she's no longer 14.

[Ritterin Sophia]

NOTE: This was for the 2000 Olympics, held in Sydney Australia, not the one in China. It took 10yrs fro the IOC to make this decision. The article quoted specifically states that Dong Fangxiao is now living with her husband in Australia. That right there should have made people realize she's no longer 14.

No offense: But who said she was still 14?

[Master of Ossus]

Why is there an age limit?

Their justification seems to supposedly be that younger gymnasts might have an unfair advantage. It sounds fishy, though I could probably see arguments for making sure gymnasts are competing with athletes of skills on par with their own.

Younger gymnasts do have an unfair advantage (especially in women's gymnastics): they're smaller and so it's much easier for them to do many of the agility- routines (aka. every single gymnastics event). Unfortunately, they're also much more prone to injuring themselves because their skeletons haven't matured, yet, and they're also more likely to permanently injure themselves.

[Isolder74]

NOTE: This was for the 2000 Olympics, held in Sydney Australia, not the one in China. It took 10yrs fro the IOC to make this decision. The article quoted specifically states that Dong Fangxiao is now living with her husband in Australia. That right there should have made people realize she's no longer 14.

This I know. I was pointing out that China has been playing this game of trying to push the rules long before they hosted the games. Hosting the games we saw how willing they were to step on people to have everything turn out the way that they wanted.

[Ypoknons]

Actually the main reason is that the increased flexibility of young bodies makes them much more vulnerable to long term injuries from doing high impact floor routines over and over again. That is particularly the case when you have kids from a place like China that will think nothing of drilling them on the same routine thirty times per day, every day.

Indeed, and not only for competitive sports. I am entirely uncomfortable with the pratice.

[Molyneux]

NOTE: This was for the 2000 Olympics, held in Sydney Australia, not the one in China. It took 10yrs fro the IOC to make this decision. The article quoted specifically states that Dong Fangxiao is now living with her husband in Australia. That right there should have made people realize she's no longer 14.

And let me be the first to say I'm glad that, medal or no medal, she's out of China.

[Phantasee]

Why is there an age limit?

Their justification seems to supposedly be that younger gymnasts might have an unfair advantage. It sounds fishy, though I could probably see arguments for making sure gymnasts are competing with athletes of skills on par with their own.

Younger gymnasts do have an unfair advantage (especially in women's gymnastics): they're smaller and so it's much easier for them to do many of the agility- routines (aka. every single gymnastics event). Unfortunately, they're also much more prone to injuring themselves because their skeletons haven't matured, yet, and they're also more likely to permanently injure themselves.

The younger girls are a lot more flexible, naturally, than the older ones. So it's an unfair advantage. The idea is that by 16 most girls are already well into puberty and any advantage one has over another is mostly from training and practise.

Actually the main reason is that the increased flexibility of young bodies makes them much more vulnerable to long term injuries from doing high impact floor routines over and over again. That is particularly the case when you have kids from a place like China that will think nothing of drilling them on the same routine thirty times per day, every day.

The original age limit for Olympic Gymnastics was IIRC 14 until the 1980s, and it was then pushed up twice one year at a time over health concerns.

Thanks for the instant replay, chief.