Kim Gwang Suk (born February 15) was a North Korean gymnast who competed in the 1992 Olympics. She is known for both her exemplary uneven bars work and for her involvement in one of the most prominent age falsification scandals in gymnastics in recent years. February 15 is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... North Korea, officially the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK; Korean: Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk; Hangul: 조선민주주의인민공화국; Hanja: 朝鮮民主主義人民共和國), is a country in eastern Asia, covering the northern half of the peninsula of Korea. ... Gymnasts are people who participate in the sports of either artistic gymnastics or rhythmic gymnastics. ... There were two Olympic Games in the year 1992: 1992 Summer Olympics 1992 Winter Olympics This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Kim made a modest international debut with a 17th place all-around finish at the 1988 Cottbus Cup. The following year, she participated in the World Championships with the North Korean team. 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII in Roman) was a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

While Kim finished out of the medals on every event, her innovative uneven bars routine attracted attention. Her set would still be considered exceptionally difficult by modern standards, with intricate Stalder work and several releases and transitions. Kim also performed her own original release move, a Tchatchev-front flip toward the high bar. The skill came to be known in the Code of Points as the Counter-Kim; today it is still ranked as a top difficulty element and is rarely attempted.

Kim's uneven bars efforts were finally rewarded at the 1991 World Championships, where she earned the uneven bars gold medal in event finals with a perfect 10.0 score. She was expected to challenge for bars gold at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, however, a step on her dismount kept her out of the medals. 1991 (MCMXCI in Roman) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

While the gymnastics community praised Kim's gymnastics, they also questioned her age. Kim was tiny even by gymnastics standards, and many people did not believe she was actually eligible for senior competition. When Kim appeared at the Olympics with missing front teeth, standing 4'4" and claiming to be seventeen, the skepticism grew. Several officials and coaches, including Bela Karolyi, voiced their doubts. Even NBC mentioned the controversy in their television broadcasts to American audiences. Bela Karolyi (born September 13, 1942 in Cluj-Napoca Romania), is a famous gymnastics coach. ... For other uses, see NBC (disambiguation). ...

Kim's coaches claimed that she had lost her teeth in a training mishap several years before the Olympics. This story was corroborated by photographs from past events and witnesses who had seen Kim without teeth. However, there was no way to explain away the numerous inconsistencies with Kim's age.

It was eventually revealed that North Korean officials had falsified Kim's birth year at least three times, supplying different information at different competitions. They had been sloppy with their forgeries, too: Kim had been "fifteen" at both the 1989 and 1991 World Championships; at the 1992 Olympics her age had mysteriously jumped to seventeen.

The FIG punished the North Korean gymnastics federation by barring their women's team from the 1993 World Championships. Kim, however, was permitted to keep the gold medal she had won at the 91 Worlds. 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...

Little is known about Kim apart from her competitive history. Her real age has never been conclusively determined. Some people believe she was born in 1976; the more accepted consensus is that her birth year was actually 1978. 1976 (MCMLXXVI) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII in Roman) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ...

Major Results

1992 Olympics: 4th UB; 11th team; 28th AA
1991 World Championships: 1st UB; 9th team; 18th AA
1990 Asian Games: 2nd UB; 6th AA
1990 Moscow World Stars: 1st UB; 8th AA
1989 World Championships: 7th team; 14th AA

External links and References

• Biography at Gymn Forum
  
• Video of Kim's 1992 Olympics routine