I don't often highlight gymnastics from other countries here, but I do respect the Chinese gymnasts for their skill and courage, and Chinese Gymnastics is one of my favourite specialist blogs. Visit this post for a video of some of the incredible combinations and skills the Chinese perform. Forget the controversy re their respective ages. The gymnasts can't help this, and most people seem to agree that the age limit rules are rather silly, anyway. If they are the best, why shouldn't they win?
Rules are rules, I suppose. Such a pity though that the Chinese authorities have saddled their team with a bad reputation on the basis of contravention of a rule that almost everyone seems to think is wrong. Why not just lobby for fairer rules?
Russian national championships are shortly upcoming. I will post results here as soon as they become available. Not forgetting those regional championships results which I'll do as soon as I get a free day. I promise.
Rules are rules, I suppose. Such a pity though that the Chinese authorities have saddled their team with a bad reputation on the basis of contravention of a rule that almost everyone seems to think is wrong. Why not just lobby for fairer rules?
Russian national championships are shortly upcoming. I will post results here as soon as they become available. Not forgetting those regional championships results which I'll do as soon as I get a free day. I promise.
The problem Elizabeth is the fact that only the Chinese best get to compete. The rule is ridiculous and unjust. But it is even more unjust if some countries get to compete their best athletes but others don't. Its not right that China can compete their age ineligibles but Russia can't put in Komova or USA can't put in Wieber.
ReplyDeleteNastia Liukin had to sit out in 2004, and she could have done extremely well there. And she has to lose bars to He Kexin, who shouldn't be there.
In figure skating there's controversy about age rules. And really a 20 something your old man throwing a 13 year old girl IS a huge advantage. But the thing is again, we had really great skaters who had to give up medals due to age rules.
Russia can't put their two time National Champion Adelina Sotnikova in Senior competition till 2013. Yu-na Kim and Mao Asada went 1-2 in Vancover, and the real story is that there was a good shot they would have gone 1-2 in Torinio too. But both were 3 months to young. The sad thing for Asada is she beat the entire Olympic podium then, and she was stronger than Yu-na at the time as well. Yu-na won in Vancover. Perhaps the winner in 2006 would have still won but Shizuka will never know.
Japan still took gold, but Korea didn't even have anyone else good enough to compete in skating, but Yu-na in Torino.
Its unfair and wrong that Kim and Asada have to watch and learn about these age ineligibles.
The age rules do need to change, but as long as they are in place its unfair for one nation to be allowed to break them.
Don't get me wrong I do think the Chinese had the best Jrs in 2008, but its really unfair to lets say Rebecca Bross that the Chinese pulled what they pulled. And Russia may have paced Aliya different and put her on the team too. And the Chinese certainly don't have the best Jrs now. Rules need to change, but they need to change for all. It shouldn't be one rule for USA/Russia and another one for the Chinese.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. I do agree, of course, rules are rules and you can't break them just for convenience. But I suppose my sympathy is with the girls affected, who at such a tender age can't really have had much choice what the authorities were doing 'on their behalf'.
ReplyDeleteIt is a silly rule, and I do not understand how it gained approval at FIG committee when so many key players seem to think the same. So, as I said, why not lobby rather than cheat? These rule changes seem to be agreed by almost nobody visible, nobody likes them, so how do they find a footing in the sport? Who are the invisible, unspeaking enablers?
If Russia could have fielded Komova at worlds this last autumn, they would doubtless have fared even better in Rotterdam, and the ability to field Grishina and Sidorova at senior level this year would also benefit them hugely in the coming Olympics.
Hey! I can read Russian pretty well, so if you need help translating the results, let me know. (So long as there is no English to Russian, I'm good...) :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Go-tribe! Could you contact me by email, please? We'll discuss - I'm well into the regional championships but certainly when more complicated translations come up it would be helpful to have a second eye to clarify the Google translates which are often so misleading and can't be taken at face value at all!
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