A Gold Medal For the Games

Following the first week of competition at the 29th Olympiad, I believe there are two major storylines for Team USA. First, and most obvious, has to be Michael Phelps. They call him Superman for a reason, and after watching the 23-year-old Baltimore native win the 100 meter butterfly tonight by .01 second, the young man is unbelievable. He is reportedly worth several million dollars in incentives, and analysts believe he'll be worth even more upon his return home from Beijing, especially, if he wins his eighth gold medal tomorrow night.

The second storyline has somewhat bothered me over the past few days. In the team gymnastics competition, China won the gold over the United States, but was it a fair victory? A media outlet from China reported that at least one of the Chinese gynasts is 13 years old. According to the International Olympic Committee, gymnasts must be 16 years old at one point during the same year as the Olympic Games. If the report is correct, then China would have to forfeit their gold medal. What's the big deal you might ask? In my opinion, cheating is cheating. If this were the Americans, I would be arguing the same point. The Chinese gymasts are claiming the accusations are incorrect. According to their passports which is used by the IOC to judge their official age, each one of the Chinese gymnasts are eligible to compete. However, it is speculated that their passports could be doctored by the Chinese government. Unfortunately, cheating has become somewhat of a revived theme in just about every sport or competition these days. Whether it be abusing illegal drugs or even lying about age, it's all relative in the sense that the rules are being broken. And it makes you wonder, if China is allegedly willing to lie about something as simple as a girl's age, what else are they willing to doctor?

Either way, I must say the 2008 Games have been a pleasure thus far to watch, and I will continue to cheer for Team USA with pride and adoration for the Red, White and Blue.