In the Olympic sport of gymnastics female participants are praised for their acrobatic prowess, and tumbling power. Such skills usually come naturally to lighter weight individuals. Due to the ancient law of gravity, the weight of the body many times dictates one’s ability to perform such maneuvers.

Since 1997 the International Olympic Committee has maintained that participants of the Olympic Games must be age 16 or older. The 2008 Beijing Olympics have brought controversy to this law by none other than the host country of China.

The Chinese Women’s Gymnastic team has two participants that many believe to be under the age of 16: He Kexin, a gold-medal favorite in the uneven parallel bars, and Jiang Yuyuan. China holds that the two girls are age 16, as stated in the girl’s passports, but Chinese media, however, contradict the passport information stating that Kexin and Yuyuan may be as young as 14.

The problem with both Kexin and Yuyuan being two years below the official participant age is the advantage the girls have with their weight being less than that of their older counterparts. The average weight of China’s Women’s Gymnastics team is 77 pounds, which is significantly less than the 105 pound average weight of the United States’ Women’s Gymnastics team.

The controversy continues because the Chinese team recently won the Team Gold Metal. The International Olympic Committee made a statement soon after the event saying they trust the ages of Kexin and Yuyuan as stated in their passports and will not reverse the judgment. We will keep an eye on this story as it progresses.

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