With the Beijing Olympics at a close, we look back on the moments that made them special. The US beach volleyball teams, both men and women, had great showings and exciting matches. The swimmers, not just Phelps, were fantastic. The basketball team got the gold, showing the world that we, Americans, are the most, “Like Mike.” One area that was a disappointment though was gymnastics. I’m not talking about the US’s lackluster performance either. I’m talking about the cheating Chinese! In what I can only imagine is a monumental undertaking, the Chinese government has made it a point that the Chinese will be an athletic powerhouse. With a population of over a billion people, it doesn’t seem like this should be a problem at all. With so many people, in a country with so much freedom and opportunity, world caliber athletes should be popping up all over the place. Apparently this isn’t so though, so the Chinese government has taken an extremely active role in grooming athletes from birth. Who would have thought that the Chinese government would get involved in every facet of their culture? The result of the Chinese government’s efforts was apparent when the Chinese won 51 gold medals and 100 medals overall, second only to the United States in medals. But how many of these Chinese medals were legitimate? Specifically, how many gymnastics medals were legitimate? It seems that the dates of birth of the Chinese Olympic gymnastics team members are not static, as dates of birth are for everyone else in the world. No, the Chinese have apparently found a means to change the ages of their athletes. Some believe that the Chinese have found the key to time travel; others simply believe the Chinese are fucking cheaters. Today they are 14 years old, tomorrow 16, the next day who knows. This troubles me deeply because of how blatantly obvious the Chinese are cheating. They are openly cheating, but nobody on the Olympic committee has the balls to call them out on it. The Olympics are not a necessity. There are large competitions attracting the same caliber of athletes for every sport represented at the Olympics. The Olympics have to represent something more if they want to stay relevant. The must represent the fair competition of members of every nation on earth. They must be a shining beacon of integrity and sportsmanship. Allowing the Chinese to cheat, and then allowing them to save face by not calling them out on it, is contrary to the spirit that makes the Olympics special. I am deeply disappointed in the Olympic committee, more so than I am disappointed in China. Nobody would put cheating past China, their government is a bunch of scumbags. The IOC however, has an obligation to run fair games! For shame IOC, for shame!