Chinese Olympic medal count

[robnshell18 0]

...or does anybody else feel like there's something fishy about China's medal count this year?

[NJTank 1,129]

Nothing fishy host country always does better then normal and the Chinese spent 8 years building for this.

[Korbyn 0]

Nothing fishy host country always does better then normal and the Chinese spent 8 years building for this.

Everything is freaking 8.

[Jigga 40]

1) There's nothing fishy...there is out-and-out cheating going on. Especially where gymnastics is concerned.

2) They've got 1.3 billion people (1 billion more than the USA), some of them are bound to be great athletes...some of them even better than Americans. Shock, right?

[DEAD! 2,061]

Nothing fishy host country always does better then normal and the Chinese spent 8 years building for this.

Everything is freaking 8.

Correct.

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[jkrdevil 12]

1) There's nothing fishy...there is out-and-out cheating going on. Especially where gymnastics is concerned.

Cheating in the Olympics, You don't say?

[Jigga 40]

Jacques Rogge: "I'm shocked, shocked to find that [cheating] is going on in here!"

[oddball 204]

Nothing is wrong with the medal count, if you look year in and year out the host country always does well no matter what. If you look at sports where there is no judging, they probably do just the same, it's where the judging comes in that a host country will benefit from the judges consciously or unconsciously being swayed by a home crowd. Now if you want to complain about Gymnastics, that's a whole different story. Whether or not the Chinese had under age gymnasts, I strongly feel they did, but I have no proof besides what I know a 16 should look like. As I say that, I think about the women runners in some of the track events who had no breasts whatsoever and probably won't until after they stop running competitively, so breast size doesn't mean your of age, it could be stunted due to the training etc. that the put their bodies through, thus stopping the hormones that produce breasts and periods. As far as the judging in the gymnastics go, it's horrible. The fact of the matter and Bella Karoli said it, because they have countries like Russia, Romania, United States, etc. they don't have judges from those countries judging it, therefore they have inexperience judges who don't see top level talent perform and thus they make mistakes. That's horrible, because watching diving there is a Russian and a judge from the United States. The governmental body of gymnastics is horrible.

[LMU 7,633]

A lot of it is due to the fact that as a host, China could have athletes participate in any event they wanted as automatic qualifiers. They even instituted a government program to train athletes in all these sports that had a lot of medals at stake. How sad is it that even with these advantages, and the huge population base to pull from, that they had to forge documents to get underaged gymnasts qualified?

[footballfiji 7]

It's less about the location of the games and more about good planning on the Chinese part. Specifically, Project 119:

Shortly after China was awarded these Games seven years ago, its sports leaders devised Project 119, an initiative to help boost their country to the top of the Beijing medal standings. One-one-nine refers to the number of golds given out at the 2000 Games in the medal-rich sports of track and field, swimming, rowing, sailing and canoe/kayak. In Sydney, China won only one medal, total, in those sports.

Just looking at those sports alone:

Track and Field: 2 Bronze Medals

Swimming: 1 Gold, 2 Silvers, 2 Bronze

Rowing: 1 Gold, 1 Silver

Sailing: 1 Gold, 1 Bronze

The majority of their medals have come in Gymnastics, Weighlifting, and Diving

[MVP 0]

1. With 1.3 billion people, there's bound to be some talent.

2. Their athletes are trained for their specialty pretty much once they know how to walk, and training in their specialty is all they do in their lives.

3. In events that young age provides an advantage like gymnastics, they seem to be able to send out little kids who don't look nearly as old as the age limit. For goodness sakes, the girls barely look 10 years old.

4. Hometown advantage DOES have an effect.

[Alphabet Man 0]

It has a bit to do with the billions of dollars theyre putting into their programs. Same with Britain (who I don't really like being ahead of us on the medal tally)

[Max Van Herk 0]

well, the host country doesn't always do well, Canada only got like 1 old in 76

[jkrdevil 12]

well, the host country doesn't always do well, Canada only got like 1 old in 76

Actually it was 0 Golds in 1976. Only Host country to fail to win at least 1 gold medal.

[DEAD! 2,061]

well, the host country doesn't always do well, Canada only got like 1 old in 76

Actually it was 0 Golds in 1976. Only Host country to fail to win at least 1 gold medal.

hopefully that will change in 18 months....

[Jezus_Ghoti 1,163]

Unless Canada invents a time machine and goes back to 1976 and wins a gold, that will never change. I see what you are saying (that Canada will win a gold in Vancouver 2010), but that won't wipe 1976 from the record books.

[DEAD! 2,061]

Unless Canada invents a time machine and goes back to 1976 and wins a gold, that will never change. I see what you are saying (that Canada will win a gold in Vancouver 2010), but that won't wipe 1976 from the record books.

Yeah, I figure he meant historically because Canada didn't win a gold in Calgary 1988.

[NJTank 1,129]

Unless Canada invents a time machine and goes back to 1976 and wins a gold, that will never change. I see what you are saying (that Canada will win a gold in Vancouver 2010), but that won't wipe 1976 from the record books.

Yeah, I figure he meant historically because Canada didn't win a gold in Calgary 1988.

Prediction in 2010 Canada wins their most medals ever in Winter

[Jigga 40]

Unless Canada invents a time machine and goes back to 1976 and wins a gold, that will never change. I see what you are saying (that Canada will win a gold in Vancouver 2010), but that won't wipe 1976 from the record books.

Yeah, I figure he meant historically because Canada didn't win a gold in Calgary 1988.

Prediction in 2010 Canada wins their most medals ever in Winter

Will they need to cheat, too?

[DEAD! 2,061]

Unless Canada invents a time machine and goes back to 1976 and wins a gold, that will never change. I see what you are saying (that Canada will win a gold in Vancouver 2010), but that won't wipe 1976 from the record books.

Yeah, I figure he meant historically because Canada didn't win a gold in Calgary 1988.

Prediction in 2010 Canada wins their most medals ever in Winter

Will they need to cheat, too?

Ice has a different meaning in Vancouver...