Gymnastics History

After the Chinese women’s team finished sixth at the 2022 World Championships, the Chinese press searched for explanations. One recurring theme was a perceived lack of talent. In 2018, Chinese officials had

In 2018, Chen Yile enjoyed a remarkable senior debut. She won team bronze at the Doha World Championships and captured three gold medals — team, all-around, and balance beam — at the Asian Games in Jakarta. Yet according to articles published by both the Chinese Olympic Committee and the General Administration of Sport of China, Chen Yile was still only fifteen years old in 2...

At the end of 2018, Ye Zhennan, team leader of the national gymnastics squad, acknowledged that the women’s national team had entered a difficult period. One reason, he explained, was the lack of eligible athletes born in 2001 and 2002:

“This has been an extremely difficult year for the women’s team. Athletes born in 2001 and 2002 are almost entirely missin...

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Chinese gymnasts again faced questi...

In 2011, the Chinese women’s team finished third, but it faced a structural problem. According to Lu Shanzhen, the coach who “single-handedly built China’s women’s team to its 2008 glory,” the pool of age-eligible athletes was dangerously shallow. As a result, the team’s future hinged on just two young gymnasts: Yao Jinnan and Tan Sixin. Here’s what Lu Shanzhen said to the