I have been talking to some of my Chinese mates and they too agree that the girls are not 16 - definitely younger. They also tell me that the gymnasts start training VERY early - 3 or 4 years old, and do not, in general, attend school, but spend all day training. From an early age they are also given anti-growth hormones, and the training is pretty severe. The coaches are not kind, loving people according to my mates.
I've had a couple of national level athletes in my classes. They NEVER come to class, and if they hand in a paper the English is word perfect - even if the subject is totally unrelated to the topic required!
I fail them - but don't ask questions about those ones afterwards.
And we cannot convince ourselves that human beings will not use every means at their disposal to gain glory and gold (of any variety!) for themselves and their countries.
Olympic drug cheats still ahead of the cops
Bill Dwyre
August 1, 2008
We are days away from the opening of yet another Olympic spectacle, the Beijing Games, and with arenas ready and athletes poised, there seems to be only one missing element.
A gold medal category for best pharmacist.
It's not that the China Olympics are expected to be any more performance-enhanced than their predecessors. Just that the performance-enhancers are being chased harder now.
Jacques Rogge, the Belgian who is president of the International Olympic Committee, said he expected an increase in drug positives from the 26 at the Athens Games to about 40 in Beijing. His cops, WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) are on the case.
It happens - and not just in gymnastics to change body structure/chemistry.
We can agree that a certain percentage of athletes in every sport will take this road, based on past experience, so it isn't actual mudslinging. What we can't do, until the tests are done is to say 'X used drugs".
But to clear the whole sporting system of drugs is an enormous ask.
The bio-chemists, bio-engineers etc will be working for new and less detectable ways of artificially enhancing performance for many years to come.