Having been a tumbler myself since the time I could walk, I've watched every olympic gymnastics in my lifetime. So it was great eagerness I awaited the 2008 events in Bejing China.

The men's and women's team and all-around competitions have passed and with them, my hopes for a fair and interesting competition.

The first day of women's team, my husband says, "There's no way that girl is 16." That's the minimum age requirement for women's gymnastics. Younger girls are lighter and smaller, giving them an advantage.

The girl in question wears heavy blue eyeshadow that makes her look like she's been playing in mommy's makeup, and there's at least one other Chinese gymnast who doesn't look a day over 14.

Curious, the next day I did some research. Turns out there are 3 girls on the Chinese team whose ages are in question. There have been registries found online with birthdates that put the girls at under 16. But China provided "official passports" that list the girls as 16 and the Olympic Committee accepted them.

Between that and the judging, which seems heavily weighted against the US gymasts, the events haven't been very exciting. Last night when a vaulter landed on her knees and scored higher than the US gymnast who merely took a small hop on the landing of an otherwise beautiful vault, I could only shake my head. I'll stay up late and watch the other events in support of our US gymnasts, but I'm not expecting fairness. That went out the door a long time ago.

Labels: gymnastics, olympics