China's 2008 gold medalists were old enough

GENEVA -- China's Olympic gold medal gymnasts at the Beijing Games were old enough to compete, but the team that won the bronze medal in Sydney eight years ago still faces questions, the international gymnastics federation said Wednesday.

The FIG closed the Beijing case after a 5½-week investigation into the ages of the women's team.

"Originals of official documents received from the Chinese Gymnastics Association, specifically passports, identity cards and family booklets or Household Registers, confirm the ages of the athletes," the FIG said in a statement.

But two members of the 2000 squad -- Dong Fangxiao and Yang Yun -- remain under scrutiny.

"The FIG does not consider the explanations and evidence provided to date in regards to these athletes as satisfactory," the federation said in a statement.

Dong got a Beijing Olympics credential with documents that suggest she was only 14 in 2000, said Andre Gueisbuhler, secretary general of the FIG. Her blog also indicates she was underage in Sydney.

Yang, who also won a bronze medal on the uneven bars in 2000, said in a June 2007 interview that aired on state broadcaster China Central Television that she was 14 in Sydney. Gymnasts must turn 16 during the Olympic year to compete.

"I would hope that the whole world in sport realizes that the FIG is serious about these rules and the ethics and moral questions," Gueisbuhler said.

Calls to Yang and Dong's mobile phones rang unanswered Wednesday, a national holiday, as did phone calls to the Chinese gymnastics team's media officers.

"We are satisfied with the information provided by FIG, and we now consider the (2008) matter closed," said Emmanuelle Moreau, spokeswoman for the International Olympic Committee.

"Clearly they feel that there is more to be looked at for Sydney," Moreau added. "We encourage them to pursue their inquiry and shed some light on these cases. We now rely on them to get to the bottom of that and get back to us."

Doubts about the ages of China's current gymnasts swirled for months before the Beijing Olympics, with media reports and online records suggesting some girls could be as young as 14. Three days before the games ended, the IOC asked the FIG to look into the matter one last time.

The investigation was expanded after questions were raised about the 2000 team.

China provided the original passports, ID cards and family registers for He Kexin, Yang Yilin, Jiang Yuyuan, Deng Linlin and Li Shanshan, all showing the girls were 16 or would turn 16 this year.

"For the FIG, the age of the Chinese team is well documented and proven," Gueisbuhler said.

Underage gymnasts have been a problem since the 1980s, when 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.

The FIG's statute of limitations in disciplinary matters is five years, and 10 years for criminal cases. Now, the international federation is trying to determine whether Australia or Switzerland would have jurisdiction. If cause is found, the punishment could be as severe as stripping the medals.

"In our statutes, our code of discipline, we have a range of sanctions. It can be from a suspension, it can be taking medals away, it can be taking the rankings away," Gueisbuhler said.

Gueisbuhler said the documents Dong used for her Beijing credential list her birthdate as Jan. 23, 1986, which would have made her 14 -- and too young -- for the Sydney Games. Dong was a national technical official in Beijing, working as the secretary on vault. She was not part of any judging panel.

"If that document is the correct one, that would suggest she was 14 years old at the Sydney Olympic Games," Gueisbuhler said.

Dong's birthdate in the FIG database is listed as Jan. 20, 1983.

Dong's blog also says she was born in the Year of the Ox in the Chinese zodiac, which dated from Feb. 20, 1985, to Feb. 8, 1986. Dong has not denied that, but she refused to answer any questions about her age, telling the AP last week, "I've left the gymnastics team."

"If the FIG wants to investigate this matter," she added, "I will provide every form of documentation."

The FIG also has a copy of Yang's 2007 interview, in which she seems to contradict her official birthdate. Yang's birthdate is listed as Dec. 2, 1984.

"At the time I was only 14," she said in the CCTV interview, done in Chinese. "I thought that if I failed this time, I'll do it again next time. There's still hope."

But Yang told the AP last week that she had misspoken, declining further comment.

"Everyone has misspoken before. On television shows, there are always slips of the tongue," she said.