I believe at least one of the members of the Chinese team in under the age of 16.

Oh suck it up USA.
sh*t happens...it's a sport and this ALWAYS happens in sports. It's the sad truth.

Let's be honest and call this "girls gymnastics," not "women's gymnastics." So few of these gymnasts are over the age of 18.

does it matter?....all of them look under 16 to me..in both teams!

many Asians look younger than their age, so its really hard to tell

I'm not sure, but regardless, the Chinese team performed better and won. If I were on the US gymnastics team, I would rather win the gold medal outright than receive it by default because of a disqualification. The rules are the rules, yeah, and if there are girls under 16, the Chinese team did wrong. This reminds me of Hillary claiming she would have won in Iowa and subsequently the Democratic nomination if Edwards's affair had been reported beforehand...

However there are 15-year olds from both countries competing amazingly in diving. Heck, even a 14-year old boy from Britain! If anything, I feel sorry for the Chinese girls - the training methods and what they do to their families and the fallout after they're no longer medal potential is incredibly sad and degrading.

bunsushi...what do they do???

Wasn't it the Chinese papers that first claimed that some of the girls were underage? Regardless, I think the rule should be 16 for gymnastics (and figure skating), national or international instead of just for worlds and Olympics.

I agree bunsushi, the unethical training practices which Chinese athletes have to deal with are sad. I feel sorry for the athletes who become victims of a desire on the part of the authoritarian Chinese government to win at no cost. But with that being said I also feel horrible for athletes who attempt to play by the rules but cannot outperform athletes who have an unfair advantage over them.

I truly believe that the U.S. gymnasts gave it their all and I felt horrible when the reporter from NBC basically asked Alicia Sacramone whether she felt the silver medal win was her fault. After all she went through that night that reporter had some nerve.

whoops *win at all costs

There is no doubt in my mind that some of those Chinese girls are underage. Nevertheless they did an excellent job the US team also did well I commend them all because I couldn't do it. To be so young and perform in front of so many people win or loose my hats goes off to them. In regards to the training in China it's very sad that 3 yr olds have to go through that I couldn’t image my niece going away for 2 days without anyone in my family seeing her. But that is their culture and we wouldn't want anyone from an outside country trying to change us.

I saw something about one of the Chinese girls having a missing 'baby' tooth and the new tooth hasn't come in yet.?

Anyway ,an interview with the team captain for the Chinese girls talked about her daily schedule , they get 1 hour of 'free' time , the rest is scheduled with practice , stretching and their eating time. The interviewer asked her if she missed being able to do other things , the girl said "No , it is my JOB".

Poor things.

Move on

I'm only half chinese and used to be a figure skater, I get asked for I.D buying certificate 12 films when I'm actually 21. I don't think I look that young, but people who aren't used to asian people often find it difficult to distinguish their age.

China has over a billion people, I'm pretty sure that officials can find a few gymnasts. It would be pretty humiliating to have to be stripped of gold medals when they are hosting the games. I'd like to hope that they wouldn't be that stupid.

I don't know how they monitor the ages during the olympic games, but I think in some areas of China they still use a different birthday calender, they guestimate the date of conception, my dad isn't sure of his actual birthday.

the reason why there are divers who are 15 is because you have to be 16 in the Olympic year, not by the time the Olympics comes around so their birthdays are just later this year.
Anywho, there are OBVIOUSLY underage girls on the Chinese
But most importantly, the Chinese performed better and didn't let the pressure get to them (like Alicia did) they deserved nothing less than the gold.
Can't wait to see Shawn dominate in the individual competition tomorrow though!! aww...i miss gymnastics

It bothers me more that the Chinese team members were taken from their homes at 3 years old for training, only allowing to see their families once a year. The US team is more legit, period.

Some of them literally look like they're 12.

is that jealousy talking? i really can't say about the age... i'm not a chinese expert... they might be. i actually root for russian gymnastic team, but I knew that chinese will win since Olympics in 2004. Their mentality ir so much more suited for this kind of hard work and their physique as well.

I do think they are under age - I think the Chinese will win at all costs. They either win or face having to explain to their government why they lost. That's sad! Either way US did poorly!! Come on - these girls do the routines thousands of time over and over again and they do the stupidest stuff when they are actually competing. I know they put a lot into it, but they are supposed to be pros therefore they should do a little bit better when it comes to their routines. LOOK at Men's Gym - we were not supposed to even place with our Gold Medalists injured and we did GREAT!!

Deanna who calls it "girls gymnastics?" They're the U.S. Women's gymnastics team. Besides the rule is that you must be a certain age so you should be that age. Anyhow several of the girls do look like they're 12 years old. The speculation is granted because it's known that the Chinese have lied about the ages of their gymnast in the past. What's to stop them now? They continue to keep these gymnast away from their families from age 3 until they aren't competing. The 20 year old Chinese gymnast asked to go home for a long time and she was told no that the reputation of her country lied on her shoulders. If they keep athletes away from their families then why wouldn't they lie about ages? They're moral compass is obviously different from ours. I'm not saying they're right or wrong. It's just different than here in the U.S. I don't think the Karyoli's are speaking out to make their girls bump up to gold but because they're been in the sport for so long and respect the rules.

Yes, a couple of the Chinese girls look underage to me but it's easy to be wrong about something like that and impossible to prove. Either way, the Chinese performed much better than the U.S. and I feel like the girls competing deserved it since they've dedicated their lives to it. Although whether or not China as a country deserves it is a different story...

I honestly feel sorry for these girls because they don't seem to have any kind of future after they're done with gymnastics, and it seems like the oldest gymnast this year was 20.

I wouldn't put it past the Chinese Government to print them "legitimate" passports that verify them being 16 ... even though they may not be ... think about it.

I saw the girls, and they seemed super young. I'm Asian, so I know we look much younger than our age, but...Some of the girls were really pushing it. Plus, ashlee70 has a very good point. That was my first reaction when I watched the games last night, but...Oh, well. US definitely made some mistakes during the games, so winning gold was a bit out of their reach, anyway.

I agree Cmill, I don't think that the Karyoli's brought up the issue in some attempt to get a U.S gold by default, but rather out of respect for the sport. Several of the Chinese girls definitely don't look 16, but like Belya pointed out, the only proof of their age would be the passport issued by their government:/ And, overall, they did perform better, but it's a shame because I think we could've won if we did our best. Oh well...so excited for the all around! yay Shawn!

we can look much younger than our age**

i mean, yeah, America screwed up, but there's no way ALL of those Chinese girls are 16. i'm Korean, so i definitely look a lot younger than my age, but i definitely didn't look like i was like 10 when i was 16.

China probably tortures these girls like Iraq did to their athletes if they don't perform well.

these chinese girls being gymnists and competing are putting food on their families tables, they know that and their family know that.. they arent forced to do these, they have a choice.. but they know the sacrifice they have to make to make their lives and their families lives better.

i think they did great. so did usa. Underage or not, everyone saw who performed to earn gold medal

That is so funny, I said to boyfriend last night that exact same thing about Deng Lin Lin's teeth! She clearly has baby ones still there and adults growing in. Shame on China but congrats to the US for competing with grace considering the circumstances.

fleurfairy you should really get facts before you suggest things like that

14? Some of them look 7

I could believe that a couple of those girls are fourteen. Then again I said the same thing about the US team when I first tuned in, well before seeing the Chinese girls. So I'm not about to point any fingers... if the US girls are all over 16, then I'm a bad judge of age and my view is invalid.

Yes I think that China's team had at least one person underage, and if mine and everyone else's opinion is right, than it is too bad that they would involve so many people in a lie that could potentially get these girls stripped of medals - because their performance was definitely superior.

I heard one was missing teeth! I hope it comes out that they are really under 16

I cant believe we're doing this. Just let them have their damn medal, they look so happy. Maybe its all the crappy bovine hormones in our food in the US that makes our girls look older or more developed. Its been my experience that Asian girls have a tendency to look younger than Caucasian girls. Geez. I think this looks really sh*tty and as if we are sore losers to even be speculating this.

these girls look 13 AT THE MAX. one of them doesnt look any older than 10.

come on guys, some american girls look like they're 14, when they're actually 30. only when you see their face up close you can notice the wrickles... it's just because more of chinese girls look petite and cute and childlike. they have childish voices as well, we all know that but we don't say that they lie about their age because of that.

anyway, China could do that... but I don't mind

Yes, I do think that some of them are underage, it's not that I'm complaining, just stating. The USA did great, they tried their best and they won a silver medal fair and square. If China wants to win a gold medal, by having girls that are underage and lying to the Olympic committees than good for them, they can have that on their conscious.

I bet one of them isn't 16. And it's not jealousy talking, because I think silver is great too. The chinese gymnasts look so young it's freaky.

Well, most of those girl probably have delayed puberty from less than natural reasons.

I am sure all of them have a great deal of wear and tear on their bodies. I do not envy those who play this "sport."

no jealousy here, just can't possibly believe that all of those girls are over 16. the excessive use of glitter should be an indication in itself.

you can definitely see one of them is missing a tooth - while this is not an indication of age in itself, it does make me question it even more.

it's just annoying that china seems to be covering up all these things.

I think that several of them are younger than sixteen. I don't really care and I don't think that the US women's performance deserved the gold. It's just that when I was watching the Chinese compete every time one of them stepped up I thought my god, how old is she??

I think some of them probably are younger than sixteen, we were actually talking about that last night. (And that's not coming from a disappointed perspective; I'm a proud New Zealander and it makes no difference to me whether the US or China wins.) But I don't think it really matters, frankly. People lie about their age, take drugs, etc, in most sports. No matter how old the team is, they performed the best. It's actually more impressive in a way if they ARE a lot younger.

First of all, it's wrong. The U.S. team didn't do well, that's fair enough but there are rules. These girls are clearly not 16. At a younger age, you are more flexible than you are now. This would give them a great advantage to have more of a range than the girls that are 16+. You rarely see a girl over the age of 22, except for the one from the German Team who is now 32. It is not an equal competition and that is the point that Bela Karolyi is trying to make.

Also, where do you get your fake ID, people?? Chinatown. Think about it.

On the news today, they mentioned that a girl on the Chinese team from the 2000 Olympic games was 14 when she competed. They also mentioned that official documents of at least two of the girls showed different birth years than their passports. If they cheated back then what would stop them from cheating now?

most asian girls look way younger than their age. and anyways the coach is just being a sore loser. at the end of the day the chinese team did better. maybe he should focus on improving their performance rather than complaining. regardless, silver is a great achievement.

I remember when I was a 13 year old gymnast I looked 7. And really, it doesn't really matters to me if they're under 16. If you are at the top of your game at a younger age, why SHOULDN'T you compit? Really, it seems like a pretty stupid rule, you should be able to compit, regardless of your age, if you have the level.

i think it should be against child laws to allow them to compete under the age of 18! in any country, parents and coaches push these kids to their breaking point. if the age limit was raised to 18 then the kids, well adults now, would be able to decide for themselves what to do.

and there is NO way that all of the Chinese gymnasts were 16! some of them still had their baby teeth! which i lost by the time i was 8 (and i was a LATE bloomer...) and i know how asians can look younger then other races, but this is ridiculous! especailly with all the information coming forward about how there are documents from a couple years ago saying they were born on a later date then their passports say. its sad that the olympics have come to this...

I think underage.

I remember watching them last night and getting up and calling my mom to see the Cninese team because they looked like six year olds. I know some people may think that it is complaining because USA got silver, but rules are there for a reason. They need to be respected. And if the poster who said the we are more flexible the younger we are than I think that is cause for questioning their age.