2012 Summer OlympicsMedia MonsterWeird But True

In China, Your Family Doesn’t Tell You Grandma And Grandpa Died Because It Might Stop You From Winning Gold

by Jordan Rabinowitz | 10:53 pm, August 1st, 2012

Poor Wu Minxia. The triumph of the Chinese diver’s gold medal win in the 3m springboard was met with unfortunate tragedy as she learned shortly after her victory that both of her grandparents had died and her mother was fighting an arduous battle with breast cancer. This was not tragic coincidence — these events happened a few years ago and were purposely withheld from Wu as to not deter her quest to win Olympic gold.

According to Yahoo! Sports:

Wu’s parents decided to withhold news of both the death of her grandparents and of her mother’s long battle with breast cancer until after she won the 3-meter springboard in London so as to not interfere with her diving career.

In case you needed another reason to believe China is totally void of compassion, this might just do the trick. Wu’s father himself, Wu Yuming, even admitted it was essential to uphold this “white lie”. He also confessed that his daughter doesn’t really belong entirely to him and his wife, and that they don’t even dare think about things like “enjoying family happiness”.

This is a terrible development, and the honest truth is that Wu Minxia is probably the norm, not the exception. Chinese athletes are yanked from their families at what you or I would consider too early an age and devote their lives to their sport, basically so Chinese government officials can masturbate furiously at the sight of their country’s name at the top of the gold medal standings every four years.

And have no doubt about it, China’s unhealthy thirst for gold and dangerous desire for supreme pageantry on the world stage is at the root of this issue. Surely Wu’s parents wouldn’t have hidden such information from their daughter if not for the insane amount of pressure China puts on its athletes and their families (China’s state news agency isn’t even congratulating silver or bronze medal winners, only those who earn gold).

Now it’s not like American athletes don’t devote an inordinate amount of time to their craft and spend ungodly hours in the prime of their lives perfecting their skills. But something tells me Debbie Phelps or Lynn Raisman wouldn’t say they’ve relinquished “ownership” of their children to the U.S. government. And certainly, god forbid, they wouldn’t withhold family tragedy from their children for fear it could hinder their quest for Olympic glory.

China, this is a new low. Even for you.

[Yahoo! Sports]

Dezol360

Ugly United states just being jealous of China. Unfortunately for u they have come to stay and I love it. Meanwhile, stop this cheap propaganda!
Tuyqtuy01

If China earns more gold medals than USA, ugly United states will become extremely jealous of China and then said “China is unhealthy thirst for gold and dangerous desire for supreme pageantry on the world stage”. If China earns less or even no medal at all, ugly United states would say that it is because there is no human right, freedom of expressions, democracy,….,etc in China and that China should learn more from the West, of course including sport.
ct86

And why would the USA be jealous of an authoritarian state with no respect for basic human rights? As if Dezol360 and Tuyqtuy01 are actually commenting of their own volition. Sounds like they’re working for the Communist Party of China.
JuiceeLusi

Holy Crap this is the worst article i’ve read. This writer should not generalize and be so disrespectful to an entire country. Please fire this horrible POS..
get these nets

tone of this article is awkward.

there have been times when someone is away at college or in the middle of finals and we purposely withhold bad news from them so that they can focus on what they have to do.

pregnant women get the same treatment.

stretching it to years is a bit much, but this article sounds like it could have been written 25 years ago about a USSR team during the cold war.
Lexxam483

loud mouth ct86, what about human rights for Iraqis, Afghans, Pakistanis, Palistinians, Columbians, Syrians, Gyatamalians and dozens of countries that US is running roughshod with their murderous policies. Talk with you mouth, not from your anus! :)
Mikecheung99

The big misconception about China’s sports program is that they are forcibly enrolling atheletes at a young age into these programs against their will. The reality is that its the parents who are enrolling their kids into gov-run sports academies thinking it would lead to olympic gold and glory — think stage moms in the U.S. Most middle-class families in China would never send their kids to these academies… its usually parents from poor families who think this is best for their kids. the government is creating the siuation by investing so much money in these programs — but the reality is these atheletes can quit at any time ( the top badminton player in china just did that). but doing so would mean foregoing sponsorships and dollars
Anonymous

Lets keep an eye on our own Government, instead of badmouthing China’s .
We could take lessons from China. ” Caught selling drugs . if guilty they execute them “.
Ask Andy Reids Family if they would like that law now. The great coach and future Hall of Fame inductee has lost two kids to drugs.
Hamlet’s Fool

The Iraqis and Afghanis (at least at the moment) are better off having been invaded by the US than they would have been under the regimes defeated by the US and her allies. The Syrians are being murdered by their own government, not by the US. Not sure what your point is about Colombia and Guatamala – although in Colombia’s case they have done an excellent job of defeating a liberty-threatening rebellion despite the US.

Any sane person would prefer to have the US leading the international community than communist China.
Dark Light

Wu Minxia is a brilliant diver but has never seen the light under the shadows of Guo Jingjing. Her family can make whatever decision they want to help her shine without facing criticism from you.

Also, sports is 100% voluntary in China. The very article that first started mess was actually originally about how the sports schools in China are facing difficulties finding recruits because as living standards raise, parents are more wary of the harsh trainings of athletics.