He Kexin The Cheater

Courtesy of Daniel Poon: http://www.danielpoon.com/lifehacking/2008/08/how-to-prove-he-kexins-scandalous-real-age/

This obviously proves without a shadow of a doubt that He Kexin was too young for the Olympics. Besides the fact that her age was listed in 2008 in official records as being 14, news agencies would not make the mistake of publishing the exact same incorrect birthdate for He Kexin multiple times and in multiple publications. I am aghast that the International Olympic Committee continues to ignore this blatant evidence.

So with He Kexin entering her second Olympics, the controversy has once again been stirred. I for one would love to see He Kexin declared the cheater she is, and for China's gold medal to be stripped. Not because I have anything against China or even Kexin for that matter; I just hate cheating.

And here's why:

The age limit for gymnastics at the Olympic games is 16. Gymnasts who wait until they are old enough to compete probably reach their highest potential around age 14, and must wait at least two years to become age eligible for the Olympics. Many (such as Liukin) must wait four whole years. During this waiting period they really aren't learning any new skills but must put their bodies through years of extra pounding and stress that cheaters like He, who enter the Olympics as soon as they have all their skills and while their bodies are still fresh, never had to go through.

This is the reason I hate it when people say "Well if a 14 year old can beat an 18 year old who has even more experience, that 14 deserves the gold medal no matter her age!" WRONG!

People who have made comments saying they would not want the gold medal if they were in Nastia's position (beaten by an underage gymnast) because whoever does the best routine deserves it should remember this: If Nastia had been age eligible in 2004, or had cheated like He and entered the Olympics anyway, she would most likely have won gold on bars. Nastia was without a doubt the best bars worker in the world during that time. So I cannot imagine how painful it would be to be the best in the world but too young, and then have the gold snatched away from you by an ineligible cheater when you finally ARE old enough to legally compete.

Sure,  14 year old He's bar routine was the best in the world at the time, but so was 14 year old Nastia's routine. Nastia just didn't cheat like He.

I have to say that I do not blame He Kexin for the cheating. While I feel 100% certain that He Kexin was too young and cheated in order to participate in the Olympics, I am sure it was not her personal decision. Shame on China for placing underage members on both the 2000 (which was stripped of its bronze medal) and 2008 Olympic gymnastics teams.