U.S. girls come of age

It is not possible to have twin Mary Lous, as we've been looking for just one for nearly a quarter of a century. But in a night that lined up as good vs. evil, women's gymnasts vs. exploited kids, it was the women who won.

American Nastia Liukin, who came into the Olympics as The Other One, won the women's individual all-around gold this morning. American Shawn Johnson, the presumptive next-Mary Lou, won silver. And China's Yilin Yang, who is apparently underage, won bronze.

Liukin and Johnson were able to steal a night away for a sport that has spent the week in scandal.

Liukin grew up with parents who are Russian gymnastics royalty. They opened a gym in Texas, and that's where Liukin learned. She is an American, she said, with the heart of a Russian. Johnson is the gymnast from Des Moines who goes to public school and does not train in a factory.

And they were the winners. And the sport itself was the winner.

Meanwhile, they were both still robbed this week, winning silver in the team competition when China was using gymnasts who weren't eligible.

We already knew. The looks on their little faces, the children's expressions. It was always obvious that China was cheating with gymnasts who were not going to be 16 this year, as rules call for.

They were doctoring passports, and all the Olympic organizations and governing bodies have sat quietly, not wanting to smear these Games or, far, more importantly, tick off the corporate sponsors who want to open up the Chinese markets.

You know, the people who the Games are here for.

TIME FOR USOC TO SPEAK UP

Meanwhile, the U.S. Olympic Committee has sat on its hands in fear of ticking off the IOC, not wanting to hurt Chicago's chances of getting the 2016 Olympics.

But there is no more denying the cheating. Just nine months before the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government's news agency, Xinhua, reported that gymnast He Kexin, 13, was one of the ''big new stars.'' The Associated Press found the story on-line on Xinhua's archives, then reported it.

Suddenly, Xinhua's story has been taken down, and Zhang Hongliang, an official with China's gymnastics federation, is saying the story had been misreported by China's own agency.

''It's definitely a mistake,'' he said. ''Never has any media outlet called me to check the athletes' ages.''

No. Wrong. Liar. Cheater. First off, it's time for China to give back that team gold for using ineligible athletes. And the U.S. women, who finished second, should be awarded gold.

It's time for the U.S. Olympic Committee, and USA Gymnastics to stop going along with this, stop trembling in fear of ticking off Nike or the IOC.

The U.S. women were ripped off, fans defrauded and even bigger, young girls have been exploited in gymnastics again.

It's time to step up and show some decency. People are being hurt.

And this is going right to the heart of the problem with these Olympics.

Distrust. The Western world doesn't trust China, and China doesn't trust us. Part of the idea is to break down walls. ''One World, One Dream.'' God knows how many times I've seen that on the streets and in the venues.

I don't think I've met one person who hasn't been profoundly nice here. All the way down to the woman who sits behind the desk on my hotel floor. When I leave, she has taken to telling me, ''See ... you,'' very slowly and carefully, smiling, sometimes giggling and using the slang she has apparently learned from me.

SO MUCH FOR TRUST

But China has been denying everything about everything the past few weeks. Protesters disappear. The father-in-law of the American volleyball coach was stabbed to death by a Chinese man, and the Chinese government says it was not out of anti-American feelings, just some disturbed guy.

And you never can really tell.

But a scandal that involved a government falsifying passports, and a government saying that the government-run news agency was wrong, well, they can't really deny this one anymore.

It's certainly not going to build trust.

You might wonder why it helps a team to have younger girls competing. The smaller girls with so little weight -- the Chinese team averages 77 pounds -- can flip themselves around easier on the equipment. That's the theory.

But those age-rules are put in place to stop exploiting young girls, stop overly pressuring their minds, psyches and bodies of this grueling sport, which has been so cruel to young girls for so long.

America has had its own trouble with this abuse of young girls, these long, daily, grinding workout sessions: His name is Bela Karolyi. And he still has his influence. But China is taking it further.

''We already explained this very clearly,'' said Zhang Hongliang, the Chinese official. ''There's no need to discuss this thing again.''

No, you are not going to just shut this one down.

Before the Olympics, reports in the American media showed evidence that as least three of the Chinese women's gymnasts were underage.

The International Gymnastics Federation has said that China has shown valid passports, not bothering to look deeper.

One world is watching and waiting, China. It's sounds xenophobic, but this time good won. Today was America's.

Photo: Julie Jacobson, AP / American Nastia Liukin (right) waves to the crowd after winning the gold medal in the women's gymnastics all-around Friday. Teammate Shawn Johnson (left) took the silver. ;