He Kexin

Infobox Gymnast
gymnastname= He Kexin


imagesize= 200px
caption=
fullname= 何可欣 (He Kexin)
nickname=
country= CHN
formercountry=
birthdate= January 1, 1992 (age 16) [1992 according to per fig|id=10224|name=He Kexin] [1994 according tocite web | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/sports/olympics/27gymnasts.html?hp | title=Records Say Chinese Gymnasts May Be Under Age | publisher=New York Times | accessdate=2008-10-08 | date=2008-07-27 | last=Longman | first=Jere | author2-last=Macur | author2-last=Juliet] [cite web | url=http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/sports/chinese+gymnast+declared+old+enough/2484522 | title=Chinese Gymnasts Declared Old Enough | date=2008-10-02 | accessdate=2008-10-08 | publisher=ITN]
birthplace= Beijing, China
hometown=
height= height|m=1.42
discipline= WAG
level= Senior
natlteam= 2007, 2008
club=
gym=
collegeteam=
headcoach= Liu Guicheng, He Hua
assistcoach=
formercoach=
choreographer=
music=
retired=
medaltemplates=

He Kexin (born January 1, 1992)(zh-cp|c=何可欣|p=Hé Kěxīn) is a Chinese gymnast. At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing she won gold medals on the uneven bars (her specialty) and as a member of the Chinese Artistic Gymnastics team. In 2008, she won two World Cup titles on the uneven bars. On the bars she is one of the few gymnasts in the world to score over 17.00 under the current "Code of Points". With an A-score of 7.7, she has one of the highest difficulty scores in the world in the event, along with Yang Yilin, Nastia Liukin and Beth Tweddle.cite news |first=Lisa |last=Wang |title="Chinese Championships End" |url=http://www.intlgymnast.com/Online-Features/reports/332.html |publisher=International Gymnast |date=2008-05-12 |accessdate=2008-07-27] cite news |title="Are Chinese gymnasts too young for Olympics?" |url=http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2008-07-27-3655845897_x.htm |publisher=USA Today/Associated Press |date=2008-07-27 |accessdate=2008-07-27] As with several of her teammates, her age has come under scrutiny in the international press though two investigations have cleared her and her teammates of any wrongdoing. [cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/sports/AP-OLY-GYM-Underage-Chinese.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin |title=Ruling Backs Chinese Gymnists |author=The Associated Press |publisher=New York Times|date=October 1, 2008|accessdate=2008-10-01]

Gymnastics career

He Kexin trained at the Shichahai Sports School in Beijing. [cite web|url=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=9a939865-267b-4621-ad5e-c14b3a797289|title=Success also signals change|publisher="Vancouver News" for Agence France Presse|author=Charles Whelan; Martin Parry|date=2008-08-25|accessed=2008-08-25] She participated in China's National Games in 2006 [cite web|url=http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fweb.archive.org%2Fweb%2F20070630205138%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.sport.gov.cn%2Fshow_info.php%3Fn_id%3D14342&hl=en&ie=UTF8&sl=zh-CN&tl=en|date=2006-02-14|title=运动员交流交流协议名单 Exchange list of athletes, Gymnastics|publisher=Sports Secretary, State Sports General Administration|date=2006-01-27|downloaded=2008-08-22] and Intercity Games in 2007. [cite web|url=http://www.gymnasttube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=d0f7ee0a23d6b02d9b0d|title=He Kexin UB 2007 Intercity Games|publisher=Gymnast Tube|date=2008-02-17] According to China Daily, He was recruited for the Chinese National Team in 2007, after her uneven bars win at the Intercity Games drew the attention of head coach Huang Yubin..

He made her international debut in 2008, participating in several events on the World Cup circuit. At her first meet, the World Cup in Doha, she scored 16.550 on the uneven bars; at her second, the Cottbus Cup, she scored 16.800. The mark was the highest uneven bars score posted at an international event under the current "Code of Points," [cite news |first=Amanda |last=Turner |title="He Kexin hits new high score" |url=http://www.intlgymnast.com/Online-Features/News/303.html|publisher=International Gymnast |date=2008-04-25 |accessdate=2008-07-27] besting Nastia Liukin's mark of 16.65 at the 2008 Pacific Rim Championships. [cite web|url=http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2008-03-30-pacific-rim_N.htm|title="Hamm cruises, Liukin raises bar at Pacific Rim"|publisher="USA Today"|date=March 30, 2008|accessdate=2008-03-31] On May 15, 2008 He participated in the Tianjin World Cup, breaking two world records. [cite web|url=http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:A5YfIIsOJjQJ:www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2008-05/23/content_6707927.htm+chinadaily+14-year-old+olympic&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us|title=Uneven-bars queen the new star in town (original article; now offline)|publisher=China Daily|date=2008-05-23|downloaded=2008-02-22] cite web|url=http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90779/90867/6416685.html|title=Uneven-bars queen the new star in town (original article; now offline)|publisher=China Daily (original); English People's Daily Online (translation/mirror)|date=2008-05-23|downloaded=2008-09-02] [cite news |first=Amanda |last=Turner |title="World Cup Begins in Tiajin" |url=http://www.intlgymnast.com/Online-Features/reports/333.html |publisher=International Gymnast |date=2008-05-14 |accessdate=2008-07-27]

At the 2008 Olympics, He was a member of the gold medal-winning Chinese team. In the uneven bars final, she and American Nastia Liukin both posted final marks of 16.725, and earned identical A and B-panel scores of 7.70 and 9.025, respectively. Because He's individual B-panel marks had a lower variance, she won the gold medal as per the Olympic tiebreaker rules of the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG). [cite web|url=http://www.fedintgym.com/rules/docs/05-technical/technical0801-e.pdf|title= Technical regulations|publisher= Federation Internationale de Gymnastique |accessdate=2008-09-03] Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/gymnastics/7568051.stm|title=China win as Tweddle misses out|accessdate=2008-08-18|publisher=BBC Sport|year=2008]

[cite web|last=Hairopoulos |first=Kate |url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/columnists/khairopoulos/olympics/stories/081908dnspokatecolumn.4311915.html |title= Liukin takes silver in uneven bars despite even score|publisher= "Dallas Morning News" |date=2008-08-18 |accessdate=2008-08-19] Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/gymnastics/7568051.stm|title=China win as Tweddle misses out|accessdate=2008-08-18|publisher=BBC Sport|year=2008]

He Kexin is currently an event specialist on the uneven bars. She intends to diversify into an all-arounder following the Olympic season.Fact|date=July 2008

Age controversy

During and after the Olympics, He's actual age became the subject of controversy. Her 2008 passport, the Chinese Olympic Committee and FIG list her date of birth as January 1, 1992, cite news |first=Juliet |last=Macur |title="Records Suggest Chinese Gymnasts May Be Under Age" |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/sports/olympics/27gymnasts.html?hp |publisher=The New York Times |date=2008-07-27 |accessdate=2008-07-27] [cite web | url=http://2008teamchina.olympic.cn/index.php/personview/personsen/5113 | accessdate=2008-10-08 | title=Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Chinese Sports Delegation Roster: He Kexin | publisher=Chinese Olympic Committee] which would make her age in years and days|1992|1|1|2008|8|8 old during the 2008 Olympic opening ceremonies and therefore old enough to compete. However, before the 2008 Olympics, He's age was reported by the Chinese press, including the state news service, Xinhua, as 13 in 2007 and 14 in 2008 in news articlescite web|url=http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/beijing/gymnastics/2008-08-14-gymnasts-age_N.htm|title="Age of Chinese gymnasts stirs more talk"|publisher=Associated Press|date=August 14, 2008|accessdate=2008-08-20] cite web|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2008-05/23/content_6707927.htm|title="Uneven-bars queen the new star in town"|publisher="China Daily"|date=May 23, 2008|accessdate=2008-07-27] that were later taken off-line.cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/athletics/tweddle-the-loser-as-age-doubts-mar-hes-triumph-901736.html|title=Tweddle the loser as age doubts mar He's triumph|publisher="The Independent"|author=Harris, Nick|date=2008-08-19|accessdate=2008-08-19] cite news |first=Qiang |last=Xiao |title="One More Olympic Secret: How Old is He Kexin (何可欣), Really?"|url=http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2008/08/another-olympic-secret-how-old-is-he-kexin/|publisher="China Digital Times"|date=August 14, 2008|accessdate=2008-08-19] Her birthdate has also been given on several registration lists of the General Administration of Sport in China, the Chengdu Sports Bureau and other registration sources as "1994-1-1" (January 1, 1994), which would make her age in years and days|1994|1|1|2008|8|8 old during the Opening ceremonies, and therefore too young to participate in the 2008 Summer Olympics. In addition, in a November 2007 speech in Wuhan, Chinese sporting official Liu Peng introduced He as a 13-year-old.

Chinese officials have denied the allegations, stating in August 2008 that Xinhua had not confirmed He's age before filing their news reports and attributed the age confusion to faulty paperwork when He was transfered from Beijing to Hubei. [cite web | last=Armour | first=Nancy | date=2008-08-24 | url=http://sports.aol.ca/article/official-faulty-paperwork-caused-age-confusion/322533/ | title=Official: Faulty Paperwork Caused Age Confusion | publisher=AOL] He herself, speaking to reporters after the Olympic team final, said, "my real age is 16. I don't care what other people say"; [cite web|url= http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/more-events/ioc-launch-inquiry-into-underage-gymnasts-905552.html|title=IOC launch inquiry into 'underage' gymnasts |publisher="The Independent"|author=Scott-Elliott, Robin|date=2008-08-22|accessdate=2008-09-02] [cite web|url=http://olympics.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3365672.cms|title=China's golden gymnasts say they're not underage|publisher="Times of India"|date=2008-08-14|accessdate=2008-09-02] her parents also denied the allegations. [cite web | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26337759/ | title=IOC: No proof China cheated in gymnastics | date=2008-08-22 | accessdate=2008-10-08 | publisher = MSNBC] In another interview He Kexin stated "I don't get upset because I have answered this question many times, there's no need to explain anymore". [cite web | date=2008-08-29 | url=http://www.baynews9.com/content/40/2008/8/29/377705.html?title=Chinese%20Olympic%20gymnast%20not%20upset%20by%20age%20dispute | title=Chinese Olympic gymnast not upset by age dispute | accessdate=2008-10-08 | publisher= [http://www.baynews9.com/Home.html Bay News 9] ] On August 2, the International Olympic Committee stated that they would not investigate the discrepancy in He's reported age, stating that the FIG's own verification system would be acceptable proof of eligibility. The FIG, in responding to the situation, stated that they would not ask for additional proof of age beyond the passport already supplied by Chinese officials.cite news |first=Nancy |last=Armour |title=More questions about Chinese gymnasts' ages|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=gymnastics&id=3517143|publisher=Associated Press |date=2008-08-02 |accessdate=2008-09-02] [cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/sports/printedition/la-sp-olygymchina10-2008aug10,0,3941558.story|title=More age monitoring for women's gymnastics|publisher="Los Angeles Times"|author=Pucin, Diane|date=2008-08-10|accessdate=2008-08-16]

However, the matter continues to be a source of controversy among members of the gymnastics community and the media."The Times" reported that a computer expert "Stryde" was able to recover one of the now deleted registration list showing the January 1, 1994 birth date through cached pages on the search engine Baidu. [cite web|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/olympics/article4578241.ece|title=Hacker uncovers 'proof' that Chinese gymnast is underage|publisher="London Times"|author=McCartney, Jane|date=2008-08-21|accessdate=2008-08-21] [cite web|url=http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/china/google-censorship-gymnast-underage-hacker-china-3148.html |title=Google Caught Censoring Net, Says Hacker |date=2008-08-21|accessdate=2008-08-21] On August 21, the IOC announced that they had asked the FIG to reopen the investigation into He and her teammates' ages. [cite web|url=http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/world/underage-chinese-gymnasts-ioc-fig-3151.html|title= Investigate Chinese Gymnasts, Says IOC|publisher="Epoch Times"|author= Bryskine, Sonya|date=2008-08-21|accessdate=2008-08-21] [cite web|url=http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/IOC-orders-investigation-into-He-Kexin-s-age?urn=oly,102564|title= IOC orders investigation into He Kexin's age|publisher="Yahoo! Sports"|author= Chase, Chris|date= 2008-08-21|accessdate= 2008-08-21] On Friday August 22, 2008, the IOC said they had not uncovered any evidence of wrongdoing "so far" and expressed confidence that the Chinese Federation's documents were correct. [cite web|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&refer=home&sid=aU9JxEe9vvvk |title=IOC Says China Gymnasts Age Probe Indicates `No Problem So Far' |author=Wing-Gar Cheng, Li Yanping|publisher=Bloomberg News|date=August 22, 2008|accessdate=2008-08-22] However, the FIG held an emergency meeting about the situation on August 23 and requested additional documentation for every gymnast on the Chinese team, with the sole exception of team captain Cheng Fei. [cite web|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/22/AR2008082201782.html?hpid=topnews |title=As Gymnastics Cheating Evidence Grows, IOC Shrinks|author=Sally Jenkins|publisher=Washington Post|date=August 22, 2008; 1:24 PM |accessdate=2008-08-22] cite web|url=http://209.20.80.25/vsite/vcontent/content/transnews/0,10869,5195-190995-19728-45592-288884-18345-5241-layout190-208218-news-item,00.html |title=ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REQUESTED|publisher=International Gymnastics Federation official announcement|date=August 22, 2008|accessdate=2008-08-22] On August 24, a Chinese official addressed the registration lists found online, stating that the discrepancy was due to an administrative error which took place when He was transferred between teams while participating in the InterCity Games in 2007. [cite web|url=http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/sport/olympics/china-says-paperwork-error-led-to-cheat-claim/1252787.aspx |title=China says paperwork error led to cheat claim |author=Hutcheon, Stephen|publisher=Canberra Times|date=August 25, 2008|accessdate=2008-08-25]

On October 1, 2008, the FIG ended their second investigation and concluded that He and her teammates from the 2008 Olympic games were old enough to compete. [cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/sports/AP-OLY-GYM-Underage-Chinese.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin |title=Ruling Backs Chinese Gymnists |author=The Associated Press |publisher=New York Times|date=October 1, 2008|accessdate=2008-10-01]

kills

*Uneven bars: Li Ya release (Jaeger with a mixed grip half turn directly into a Jaeger); Jaeger in a laid-out position; Tkatchev-Pak salto to the low bar; full twisting double back dismount.

*Vault: Double twisting Yurchenko

Competitive history

References

External links

*fig|id=10224|name=He Kexin