IOC: No proof China cheated in gymnastics

Earlier this month, the AP found registration lists previously posted on the Web site of the General Administration of Sport of China that showed both He and Yang were too young to compete. He was born Jan. 1, 1994, according to the 2005, 2006 and 2007 registration lists. Yang was born Aug. 26, 1993, according to the 2004, 2005 and 2006 registration lists. In the 2007 registration list, however, her birthday has changed to Aug. 26, 1992.

“If you trust every Web site but not a government...,” Lu said. “There are so many Web sites, so much hearsay. These are not official. Is it possible that all news on the Internet is accurate?”

The FIG and IOC thought they had addressed the issue at the start of the games. The FIG said a passport is the “accepted proof of a gymnast’s eligibility,” and that China’s gymnasts presented ones that show they are age eligible. The IOC also checked the girls’ passports and deemed them valid before the games.

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But the controversy never quite went away, with He being asked about her age as recently as Monday, after she won the bars gold. Neither the IOC or FIG would say why the IOC asked gymnastics officials to investigate “what have been a number of questions and apparent discrepancies” now, three days after the gymnastics competition ended.

“With some questions still remaining, we asked the federation to take a closer look,” Davies said.

The IOC, however, sounded as if it did not expect anything to be found.

“We believe the matter will be put to rest and there’s no question ... on the eligibility,” Davies said. “The information we have received seems satisfactory in terms of the correct documentation — including birth certificates.”

Age falsification has been a problem in gymnastics since the 1980s after the minimum age was raised from 14 to 15 to protect young athletes from serious injuries. The minimum age was raised to its current 16 in 1997. Younger gymnasts are considered to have an advantage because they are more flexible and are likely to have an easier time doing the tough skills the sport requires. They also aren’t as likely to have a history of injuries or fear of failure.

North Korea was barred from the 1993 world championships after FIG officials discovered Kim Gwang Suk, the gold medalist on uneven bars in 1991, was listed as 15 for three years in a row. Romania admitted in 2002 that several gymnasts’ ages had been falsified, including Olympic medalists Gina Gogean and Alexandra Marinescu.

Even China’s own Yang Yun, a double bronze medalist in Sydney, said during an interview aired on state broadcaster China Central Television that she was 14 during the 2000 Games.

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