Fairness in Eligibility and Conducting of Competitions

The principle of fairness in eligibility and conducting of competitions is meant to
ensure that all athletes are put on equal footing (Nafziger & Ross, 2011). Issues that are
usually dealt with under this principle include those related to discrimination, age, sex,
nationality as well as doping. This paper examines the age controversy of the Chinese
women’s gymnastic team that competed in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games and
how it applies to the principle of fairness in eligibility and conducting of competitions.

The Controversy

During the 2008 Summer Olympics Games in Beijing, controversy erupted over the
actual ages of medal-winning Chinese women gymnasts. Even though speculation had been
rife in the media and blogs about their ages, formal investigations were only started when an
American blogger and hacker found and publicized an Excel spreadsheet that identified the
age of one of the gymnasts, He Kexin, as being 14 rather than 16 as reported by the Chinese
officials of the team. The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), the body that governs
the gymnastics sport, requires that only persons who are aged 16 and above are eligible to
complete at the Olympics Games. Thus, if proved true that He Kexin, the gymnast whose
actual age was in dispute, was 14 and not 16, then she ought to have been disqualified as she
was in effect ineligible to compete in the competition.

In response to the revelations about He Kexin, who had won two gold medals, being
underage, the International Olympics Committee (IOC) instructed the FIG to investigate the
matter. Apart from He Kexin other Chines female gymnasts were to be investigated as well to
determine their actual ages.

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Involvement of the Principle of Fairness in Eligibility and Conducting of Competitions

Throughout the review of the age controversy of Chinese female gymnasts, there was
no explicit invoking of the principle of fairness in eligibility and conducting of competitions.
However, there was no doubt that that was the principle at stake in the case.

Allowing female gymnasts who were below 16 years to compete at the games was not
only illegal and against the rule of the FIG, but also unfair to other gymnasts who had to wait
until they were 16 in order to compete. Unlike male gymnasts, female gymnasts start training
much earlier and also reach their physical peak much earlier than their male counterparts
(Phillips, 2016). Thus, younger girls have a distinct physical advantage over older girls or
younger women. Viewed in this way, a team that fields underage female gymnasts is likely to
have an advantage over a team that fields older athletes.

How the Situation Was Solved

The investigation by FIG concluded that the dates of birth that were shown on the
passports of the Chinese female gymnasts, including that of He Kexin, were accurate. This
conclusion meant that none of the gymnasts was below 16 and, therefore, there was no need
to strip any of them the medals that they had won. However, the FIG extended its
investigations to Chinese female gymnasts that had competed in the previous Olympic
Games. Based on these investigations, the FIG stripped a Chinese female gymnast a medal
she had won in the 2000 Olympic Games after it emerged that she was 14-years-old at the
time of the competition (Nafziger & Ross, 2011).

Thoughts on the Solution

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I believe that the FIG’s decision to use passports of the gymnasts presented to them
by the Chinese officials as the only source of evidence regarding the age of the gymnasts was
wrong. The organization should have conducted its own independent investigations as there
was strong evidence against the athlete from other sources, such as her previous media
coverage both inside and outside of China. Additionally, it was inappropriate for it to ignore
the principle of fairness in eligibility and conduction of competitions during the entire period
that it conducted the investigations. By ignoring such an important principle in international
sports, FIG made it easier for it to be ignored in future.

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References

Nafziger, J.A.R. & Ross, S.F. (Eds.). (2011). Handbook on international sports law. Edward
Elgar: Cheltenham, UK.

Phillips, I. (2016, August 13). A gymnastics coach explains why female gymnasts are so
young. Business Insider. https://www.insider.com/why-are-female-olympic-
gymnasts-so-young-2016-8.