<p>btw, a lot of the asian ppl look younger than they actually are. maybe they ARE 16? and not 12? heck, johnson looks 13 herself too! </p>
<p>anyway, EVERYONE is a winner in the olympics. my heart literally breaks when i see an athlete gets stressed out or cries b/c he/she did not win a competition.</p>
<p>^ Yes, Shawn Johnson looks young but we know for a fact she is 16, something we cannot say for the Chinese gymnasts. Their gymnasts were listed at 14 years old (I think it was 14, but it was definitely not 16) just last year in their competitions, and all of a sudden, not even a year later they are magically 16 years old. There has to be something wrong with that. And there are age restrictions in gymnastics for the safety of these gymnasts.</p>
<p>^I doubt that you have it completely correct. If they were listed 14 years old last year in gymnastics competitions, then</p>
<ol>
<li>It could be possible that they turn 16 by the end of this year.</li>
<li>The FIG would not have allowed the athletes to compete, because they do stick up for their rules, when there is legitimate proof. If they had competed as 14 year olds last year in an FIG competition, then FIG would have the legitimate proof. But they don’t. They have inquired into this issue and have made a decision. Nothing more can be done.</li>
</ol>
<p>And how do we know for a fact that Johnson’s really 16? I believe she’s 16, but this stuff is just impossible to prove if you have the suspicion.</p>