Gulfstream: 22 August 2008

The problem with any potential disqualification of gold medal-winning Chinese gymnasts on the basis of age is that it gives a gold medal to a gymnast who demonstrably isn’t the best in the world, and the best in the world is more interesting than the best European, best under-23, best without sight, best under a certain weight, etc. Younger is better because younger has less fear? That’s a poor excuse for Olympic-level athletes. (I don’t know what the solution to this problem is, but it’s certainly odd (one oddity amongst many high-level sport oddities) that a sport has got itself into a situation where there’s a worry that the best in the world got that way via abuse.)