Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 4:14 pm
i think it's definitely something that should have been settled sooner, but i don't think the fact that we are talking about cute little girls who worked hard should have anything to do with it. the fact is, china cheated. period. would you feel the same if we were talking about some big eastern bloc lifter accused of doping? of course not. did anyone notice that a gymnast was disqualified for doping? (i think she was from japan, but i could be totally off). i've heard of several athletes who were not allowed to compete because they took medications containing suspect ingredients that were not pre-approved. in my mind, this is the same thing. in "women's" gymnastics it is a clear advantage to be younger (and, presumably, smaller). if this rule were not in place (or if the u.s. forged fake documents), nastia could have competed last olympics--and probably done quite well. it's unfortunate that these young girls face scrutiny because of the actions of their government, but we need not look the other way simply because "they're so cute, and they worked hard." the rule needs to be removed, or we need to enforce it; otherwise, the cheating will never stop.