http://www.nypost.com/seven/08162008...kid_124661.htm
A diminutive, doe-eyed Chinese gymnast accused of being too young to compete at the Beijing Olympics gave a heartbreaking glimpse into her past year - saying she had not seen her parents, did not know if they saw her Olympic performance and has trained nonstop without a day off.
Yang Yilin, who won a bronze medal behind Americans Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson in Thursday's all-around gymnastics competition, stood like a gazelle caught in the headlights as the US anthem played during the medal ceremony.
Afterward, Yang - who the Chinese claim is 16 but could be as young as 14 - said in a heartbreaking interview that she hasn't been allowed to take a vacation in "more than a year."
When The Associated Press asked her whether her parents were in Beijing to see her compete, Yang said, "I don't know."
Asked when was the last time she went home, the soft-spoken Yang replied, "Ummm . . . before I joined the national team."
When was that?
"More than a year ago," she said.
Will you go on a vacation after the Olympics?
"I don't know," Yang said.
Asked how many days off she gets a year, Yang paused and said, "I have not had a holiday since I joined the national team."
The 4-foot-10 Yang - along with He Kexin and Jiang Yuyuan - was part of the team that won the gold medal in the team event Tuesday, edging out the Americans, who took silver.
Questions have swirled over the past week about the three gymnasts because of Chinese competition records and government-run media reports that listed them as under 16, which would make them ineligible to compete in gymnastics events at the Olympics.
Despite the controversy earlier this week, Yang had kind words for Liukin and Johnson.
"They are very confident," she said.
Yang, who weighs just 77 pounds, said she had joined China's national training camp, based in Beijing, about 18 months ago and has not been allowed to return home to her native Guangdong, a city 1,100 miles from the Chinese capital, since then.
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This militant style training for these Chinese kids is horrible.
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