He Kexin is ’14,’ according to the People’s Daily Online

Today’s People’s Daily Online contains an article on rising uneven bars superstar He Kexin, who currently holds the record high score on the event.

No surprise. He is regarded as the best in the world on bars right now — maybe one of the best ever. Here’s the kicker:

The 14-year-old newcomer to the national team, who was recruited last year, has raised a lot of eyebrows recently after she broke two world records on the uneven bars in as many months. She will be just one more weapon on an already star-studded Chinese Olympic squad.

Newspapers make mistakes. A lot. But this error is particularly troubling given speculation that youthful-looking He is too young to be age-eligible for Beijing. The reporter who wrote this had to have gotten He’s age somewhere. She’s been reported as 16 elsewhere. Gymnasts must have turned 16 by the end of the calendar year 2008 to be able to compete in this summer’s Olympic Games.

He Kexin, 2008 Doha World Cup Finals, Uneven Bars:

This article, which may have been written by someone whose second language is English, contains some raw truths many journalists who write about gymnastics tend to shy away from — for example, it calls the Chinese women’s seventh-place team finish in Athens “humiliating” and refers to 1984 Olympic bars gold medalist Ma Yanhong as a “princess” on the event.

Tags: He Kexin, Ma Yanhong