An Olympic Q&A for kids

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BEIJING -- The Chicago Tribune’s Desiree Chen is here at the Olympics, and one of the things she’s doing is offering kids a chance to ask questions about the Games. Here is an example from the latest post:

Q: Does it hurt when you do a split? It looks like it hurts badly.

-- From Julian, 9, and his sister Jessica, 10½, of Chicago

A: ‘When I was young and first learning splits, yes it sort of hurt,’ says Samantha Peszek, 16, a member of the U.S. women’s gymnastics team. ‘But now that I do splits every day and have them all the way down to the floor, it doesn’t hurt anymore,’ says Samantha, who lives in Indianapolis. ‘My advice is to work on splits daily and the more you do them the less it will hurt. Eventually you’ll have your splits all the way down and it will be fun to show your flexibility!’

Check out the other questions and answers.

-- Debbie Goffa