Child Prodigy or Child Abuse? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Kuan · #1 04-26-2007, 09:12 AM

Quote:

8-year-old marathoner runs and runs ... and runs
By EVAN OSNOS - Chicago Tribune

LINGAO, China --
The clock above her bed read 2:24 a.m. - time for the 8-year-old to train for another marathon.

Second grader Zhang Huimin, who weighs 42 pounds and likes the Little Mermaid, sat up and gave a groggy glance around the one-room home she shares with her father, an out-of-work fish farmer with a singular goal: grooming his daughter for the 2016 Olympics.

"Don't dawdle," her father said softly, "or you won't be out the door by 2:55."

Next year, Beijing will host the 2008 Olympics, casting an unprecedented spotlight on China's athletes and the nation that shapes them. Huimin is too young for the Beijing Games, but she has already appeared in an Olympic promotion on state television, her first flicker of national fame.

On this Saturday, as she does most weekends, the girl will run more than 26 miles before school _ on top of dozens of miles she runs before school each week. Those statistics cry out for skepticism, but watching her run for more than four hours or interviewing marathon officials who recorded her recent races makes it hard to find any hints of a hoax.

http://www.centredaily.com/305/story/78130.html

Mistress · #2 04-26-2007, 02:23 PM

This competition involving children is ridiculous. They can't be kids anymore, what the heck is going on? I mean a good activity like "CD Toss" will be lost on the next generation.

AustinsCE · #3 04-26-2007, 02:29 PM

By 16, knee surgery. And officially out of the "running" for good....