FIG finally considering the Yang Yun video evidence

Thanks to MySpace Friend, "Fans Of USA Gymnastics", for pointing this out. The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) has decided to investigate into China using underage athletes in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, China Womens Gymnastics Team. The decision was invoked because the FIG finally took into consideration the interview that Yang Yun gave on Chinese television, where she stated she was only 14 during the 2000 Sydney Games.

Yang Yun said in the interview, "I was only 14 during the Games", and followed with, "I thought that if I failed this time, I would do it again next time. There is still hope".

Thursday, while being asked about the interview, she responded, "Everyone has misspoken before. On television shows, there are always slips of the tongue".

Not only is Yang Yun's age in question, teammate Dong Fangxiao, is under investigation as well. She posted on her blog that she was born January 20, 1985, although her official birth date for the 2000 games was listed as being in 1983.

Dong Fangxiao did not deny the accusations, only saying that she is no longer a member of the team.

You can read more about this story from the AP here.

Schedule of upcoming USA Womans Gymnastics Events

2008 TOUR OF GYMNASTICS SUPERSTARS

To buy tickets to your local event, browse their Tour Dates page.

• FEMALE GYMNASTS
  • Nastia Liukin
  • Shawn Johnson
  • Chellsie Memmel
  • Samantha Peszek
  • Bridget Sloan
  • Ashley Postell
  • Shannon Miller
  • Shayla Worley
• MALE GYMNASTS
  • Paul Hamm
  • Morgan Hamm
  • Kevin Tan
  • Justin Spring
  • Joseph Hargerty
  • Johnathan Horton
  • Blaine Wilson
  • Alexander Artemev
  • Raj Bhavsar

• EVENT DATES AND LOCATIONS
  • SEPTEMBER
    • 7, Reno, NV, Lawlor Events Center
    • 19, Phoenix, AZ, U.S Airways Center
    • 20, Anaheim, CA, Honda Center
    • 21, San Jose, CA, HP Pavilion
    • 24, Sacramento, CA, ARCO Arena
    • 26, Portland, OR, Rose Garden Arena
    • 27, Tacoma, OR, Tacoma Dome
    • 28, Spokane, WA, Spokane Arena
  • OCTOBER
    • 3, Salt Lake City, UT, Energy Solutions Arena
    • 4, Broomfield, CO, Broomfield Events Center
    • 5, Colorado Springs, CO, World Arena
    • 9, Tulsa, OK, BOK Center
    • 10, Houston, TX, Toyota Center
    • 11, Dallas, TX, American Airlines Center
    • 12, Little Rock, AR, ALLTEL Arena
    • 15, Chicago, IL, Allstate Arena
    • 16, Nashville, TN, Summit Center
    • 17, Atlanta, GA, Philips Arena
    • 18, Greenville, SC, Bi Lo Center
    • 19, Raleigh, NC, RBC Center
    • 23, Philadelphia, PA, Wachovia Center --- ChinaCheated attending
    • 24, State College, PA, Bryce Jordan Center
    • 25, East Rutherford, NJ, IZOD Center
    • 26, Boston, MA, TD Banknorth Garden
    • 29, Bridgeport, CT, Arena at Harbor Yard
    • 30, Washington, D.C., Verizon Center
  • NOVEMBER
    • 1, Columbus, OH, Schottenstein Center
    • 2, Detroit, MI, Joe Louis Arena
    • 5, Champagne,IL, University of Illinois Assembly Hall
    • 6, Cleveland, OH, Quicken Loans Arena
    • 7, East Lansing, MI, Breslin Center
    • 8, Rockford, IL, Rockford Metro Centre
    • 9, St. Paul, MN, Xcel Energy Center
    • 11, Indianapolis, IN, Conseco Fieldhouse
    • 13, Milwaukee, WI, Bradley Center
    • 14, Des Moines, IA, Wells Fargo Arena
    • 15, St. Louis, MO, Scottrade Center
    • 16, Kansas City, MO, Sprint Center

Reader finds missing Yang Yung video interview stating she was 14 during 2000 Olympics

Thanks to reader, Krista from TX, for sending in the link! You rock! Yes, the interview with Yang Yun, where she states she was 14 during the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, while competing on the Chinese Womens Gymnastics Team.

The video is in Chinese, but it is the interview in question. It is again located on YouTube. A translation would also be appreciated by anyone, but I am fully satisfied with just the video itself. As usual, I have saved the evidence locally to my computer, and also stored it online too, so that never again will it disappear into cyberspace.

The video is high quality, and worth the watch, even if you don't speak Chinese.

If anything, this should keep the torch burning for a little more. Thanks again for the submission!

The reasons why being younger than 16 gives female gymnasts the advantage

Since I began my research into China's cheating in the 2008 Beijing Olympics Womens Gymnastics Team, there has been one question brought up more than any other - "What difference does it make?"

Well, it makes a big difference, in numorous ways.

First, for the Men's gymnastics team, strength is what matters, so therefore, bigger and stronger is better. Could you image a 14 year old male gymnast trying to compete on the Horse with a 20 year old? The older gymnast would win because his arms and body are more muscular, and can endure more physical stress than an adolescent male.

In female gymnastics, it is the opposite. Being small and flexible gives the athlete much more of an advantage. Why? For one, their hips are not fully formed, which ables them to rotate quicker. With gymnastics consisting of many varieties of flips, being shorter, and smaller, has advantages with that as well.

For one example, take the uneven bars. The distance between the two bars is not very far, so a five-foot gymnast needs to contract her body more in order to fit between the bars during spins and flips, whereas, a gymnast that is only four-and-a-half feet tall will not need to contract as much.

It is also said that, being younger, the stress does not affect the performance as much as it would a gymnast with an "adult mind."

Below, I've made a compact list of the advantages, for easier understanding.

ADVANTAGES OF FEMALE GYMNASTS BEING UNDER 16:

• Height - particularly useful in the uneven bars
• Weight - multiple advantages - easier flipping, twisting, dismounts, and easier on arms / legs
• Bones - not fully developed - rotate quicker, joints flex faster
• Mental - stress affects the mind less during adolescent years

And a final note on this topic, the IOC, as much as I despise them, changed the minimum age from 14 to 16 for a reason - and a very good one. The reason is that younger girls, with bones that have not yet fully developed, are at a higher risk of injury than fully developed females.

But let's not forget the main reason why I devoited all my free time on this topic - ALL the other participating Countries abided by the rules - China decided not to - and they were very bad at hiding it too.

To read more about this topic, check out this Sports Illustrated article, which is where I found some of the information that you just read.

(Photo credit: Sports Illustrated)

Is the battle over for the IOC, He Kexin, and the other Chinese Gymnasts?

All you have to do is a simple Google News search for "He Kexin" to find that the answer is an overwhelming "NO".

So now what? What can we do? Well, we can go the slow, almost useless, route and write our Congress, Mayors, Governors and wait years for the same result we have today - or we can take matters into our own hands.

The way I see it, complaining to China is almost as unproductive as complaining to Washington, so that only leaves one more party to "stress our concerns" to - the Almighty IOC (International Olympics Committee)!

They're going to HATE me [more] for this!

I propose we let them know that we are NOT stupid, and we are not willing to just give up without a FIGHT!

So without further adieu, the contact information for the IOC - LET THEM KNOW YOUR OPINION! Monday morning would be a good day to start!

International Olympic Committee
Château de Vidy
1007 Lausanne
Switzerland

Tel : (41.21) 621 61 11
Fax : (41.21) 621 62 16

From the USA, you dial the numbers on your phone as such:

011-41-21-621-61-11

Send them a FAX too!

011-41-21-621-62-16

To save money on the call, go to your local convenient store and buy an international calling card for $5 or $10. They work with ANY phone - house, cell, payphone. They are also anonymous.

Also drop them a letter in the mail too! Postage for a letter to Switzerland via USPS starts at $1.74 for First Class, to about $26 for Express.

Time is short - you better get started!

Tell them ChinaCheated.com sent you!

Nastia Liukin was asked about the underage Chinese team on Leno

A YouTube video from Nastia Liukins August 26, 2008 interview on the Jay Leno Show, has Nastia, looking less stressed out, talking about various topics including the Tie with He Kexin on the uneven bars.

Nastia explains to Jay how the "Tie" came down to her being in second place, by explaining the mathematics. After her explanation, a previous guest, Norm MacDonald, who was still on the couch, said, "that sounds like a bunch of Commie gobble", which was followed by a loud audience cheer.

And YES, the topic of the China Womens Gymnastics Teams ages were brought up by Jay Leno saying to Liukin, "at one point, did you say to yourself that I'm 9-years older than these girls", then continued by saying, "I'm sorry, those girls from China did not look 16."

Nastia replied, "I don't know. I just know that I play by the rules, in our Country we do, so, umm... ". Again, followed by an audience cheer.

She continued, "that's nothing that we can control. The only thing that we can control is our performance, so we just do the best that we can."

Hinted later by Norm MacDonald, "were you better when you were 14?"

She replied, "No, I think I'm better now", she continued, "I was in the top-3 to top-5 in the USA in 2004."

Shawn Johnson gives interview, performance on the Ellen Show

Posted on YouTube, is the September 9, 2008 interview that Shawn Johnson gave on the Ellen Show. Of course she brought all her medals.

During the interview, she explains how, during her Beam Gold Medal performance, she was not feeling very well, but had no choice but to go and give her best performance regardless. She said that during the Gold Medal performance, she did not know, or expect, to win the Gold Medal, although she did know that it was a good performance.

She also talks about the "creepy old men" who hold up signs asking her to marry them. She said that they were older men - "creepy".

At the end of the interview, Shawn also performs a routine on the balance beam on the set of the show. Not a Gold Medal performance, but then again, there were no judges either.

American Spectator author rips the IOC a new one

In an article published a few hours ago on American Spectator, the IOC is bashed, and a Boycott of the Olympic Games is called for. Some of the reasons mentioned are; the underage girls used on the Chinese Womens Gymnastics Team, the video lip syncing of the little girl singing the Chinese Anthem, and China not allowing protests during the games - as previously promised by China's Government to permit.

Further, the article claims that the Olympic games are nothing but a commercialized industry to make money - not about the actual sports. One of the main points brought up is the lack of coverage, or concern, over Russia's invasion of Georgia during the games.

He did not forget to mention plenty about the Human Rights atrocities committed by China on a regular basis.

Is this not all the more reason to make a phone call to the IOC? They are not a world superpower, and they are not a god. They can easily be made to break with the application of pressure - just like a twig.