Gymnast Jiang Yuyuan of China

Women's Gymnastics Final, originally uploaded by CC2008NN.

Women's Gymnastics Final

Gymnast Jiang Yuyuan 江钰源 of China performs her floor exercise during the women's team artistic gymnastics final at the National Indoor Stadium during Day 5 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
She is one of the under-aged gymnasts about whom scandals broke out for hiding the real age and showing the required minimum age of 16 for participating in Olympic Games.

How old is Chinese gymnast He Kexin?

How Old Is She?, originally uploaded by macx0821.

The New York Times reported last month that online records showing details of Chinese gymnasts and their ages that were posted on official Web sites in China, along with ages given in the official Chinese news media. All records indicated that members of the team might be as young as 14, whereas a gymnast must turn 16 in the year of the Olympics to compete in the Games. Chinese officials replied to the controversy by providing copies of passports indicating that the athletes in question were old enough.

As shown in online sports registration lists in China, over half of the members of the Chinese team, He Kexin, Yang Yilin, Jiang Yuyuan, would be under-age. The screenshots of the records showing the age of the gymnasts are now posted on various sites, as the Chinese deleted the original posts in order to cover up the scandal. The F.I.G., however, has said that those gymnasts were eligible and that the ages on their passports were correct.

The Chinese women won the team gold among six total medals at the Beijing Games. He Kexin, the 14 year old girl won the gold in the uneven bars.

The International Olympic Committee has asked the world governing body for gymnastics to investigate whether members of the Chinese women’s team were qualified to compete in the Olympics in view of their age. The I.O.C. instructed the international gymnastics federation, F.I.G., to take up the issue with the Chinese gymnastics federation and report back to the I.O.C. later Friday last.

“More information has been brought to light and brought to our attention, so we decided to go to the federation and have them look into it further,” said Emmanuelle Moreau, a spokeswoman for the I.O.C. “We had been given some more information and thought that this information was concerning enough to go to the Chinese gymnastic federation and have a thorough discussion about it.” Reliable sources and reports said the under-aged Chinese gymnasts might lose their medals.

Chinese gymnast He Kexin wins the gold

Chinese gymnast He Kexin wins the gold because of a tiebreaker rule., originally uploaded by CC2008NN.

Chinese gymnast He Kexin won the gold because of a tiebreaker rule. She also scored 16.725 on the uneven bars, tying with Nastia Liukin of the U.S.A. He Kexin won the gold because of a tiebreaker rule.

Underage Chinese Gymnasts' age proof

0001, originally uploaded by bongdong112.

China's Gymnast Yilin Yang

Chinese gymnast Yang Yilin performs on the balance beam in the Women's Individual all-around final in Beijing, August 15, 2008. Yang won the bronze medal for the event in Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Nastia Liukin & Shawn Johnson (United States)

Nastia Liukin & Shawn Johnson (United States), originally uploaded by jodfevic.

Silver medalist Shawn Johnson of USA (R) hugs gold medalist teammate and compatriot Nastia Liukin on the podium during the medal ceremony after the women's individual all around artistic gymnastics final at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 15, 2008.

Yilin Yang, Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson

Yilin Yang (CHN), Nastia Liukin (USA) & Shawn Johnson (USA), originally uploaded by jodfevic.

United States' Nastia Liukin (C), her compatriot Shawn Johnson (R) and China's Yilin Yang (L) stand on the podium after the women's individual all-around final of the artistic gymnastics event of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing on August 15, 2008. United States' Nastia Liukin won the gold, her compatriot Shawn Johnson the silver and China's Yilin Yang the bronze.

Yilin Yang is only 14 years old! The minimum age of gymnasts must be 16 years to compete in the Olympics, according to rules. The mounting evidence suggests that Chinese gymnast He Kexin and at least one more gymnast, gold medal and double-bronze medal winner Yilin Yang, are only 14 years old.

IOC’s Media Relations Manager in Beijing, Emmanuelle Moreau, said that the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) would be responding to the IOC Saturday, Beijing time. “Bear with me for a few more hours,” Moreau said.

“We requested the FIG to look into the matter when we received further information and evidence from various sources, including the media,” Moreau said. “We expect them (FIG) to come back with some new information. When we have that, we will [discuss] with executives … to take necessary action. We have a group within the IOC to look into cases like this, should we have evidence.”

Yilin Yang of China

Olympic_YilinYang, originally uploaded by Bludgeoner86.

Gold medal and double-bronze medal winner (Summer Olympics, Beijing 2008) Yang Yilin of China is only 14 years old, according to reports.

He Kexin of China holds her gold medal

He Kexin of China holds her gold medal, originally uploaded by tcostart.

He Kexin of China holds her gold medal on the podium during the medal presentation ceremony for the women's uneven bars final in the artistic gymnastics competition at the Beijing 2008.
He Kexin is ONLY 14 YEARS OLD according to her birth records and other official records. To compete in Olympics, the participant must be of minimum 16 years of age, according to rules and guidelines. When the truth and records of her age came out controversies arose about whether she will be allowed to retain the gold medal.

Dawn Harper (USA) crosses the line to win the Women's 110m Hurdles Gold

81973090MW445_Olympics_Day_, originally uploaded by morris chen' s life.

BEIJING - AUGUST 19: Dawn Harper of the United States crosses the line to win the Women's 110m Hurdles Final held at the National Stadium on Day 11 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 19, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Dawn Harper (USA) celebrates winning the Women's 110m Hurdles Final

81973090MW433_Olympics_Day_, originally uploaded by morris chen' s life.

BEIJING - AUGUST 19: Dawn Harper of the United States celebrates winning the Women's 110m Hurdles Final and the gold medal held at the National Stadium on Day 11 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 19, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Beijing Olympics Athletics Womens 100M Hurdles

Beijing Olympics Athletics Womens 100M Hurdles, originally uploaded by catt55.

United States' gold medal winner Dawn Harper is flanked by silver medal winner Australia's Sally McLellan, left, and bronze medal winner Canada's Priscilla Lopes-Schliep during the medal ceremony after the women's 100-meter hurdles final during the athletics competitions in the National Stadium at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)

Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor (United States)

Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor (United States) celebrate their winning the Gold Medal in Beijing Olympics 2008.

Walsh and her teammate, Misty May-Treanor, were the gold medalists in beach volleyball at both the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics. They have often described by the media as ‘the greatest beach volleyball team of all time’.

On August 21, Kerri Walsh-Jennings and May-Treanor repeated their winning performance to become Olympic gold medalists, defeating the first-seeded Chinese team in the final match. Kerri Walsh and May-Treanor did not lose even a single set in either of their past two Olympics competitions. Their final match made their unbeaten streak of winning to 108 matches. As for the records, they are the only beach volleyball team to successfully defend their Olympic title.

Dancers perform during the women's beach volleyball gold medal match

Dancers perform during the women's beach volleyball gold medal match between the U.S. team (Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor) and the Chinese team (Wang Jie and Tian Jia) held at the Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground during Day 13 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 21, 2008 in Beijing, China.

Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh (United States)

Misty May-Treanor (USA) returns the ball while Kerri Walsh (USA) is telling Misty where to hit the ball during the women's gold medal match against China held at the Chaoyang Park Beach Volleyball Ground during Day 13 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 21, 2008 in Beijing, China. Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh won the Olympic gold a second time, after winning it in 2004, making them the only team to win the second Olympic Gold.

Olympic Gold Medalist Colleen Coyne

HubSpot.tv cohost Karen Rubin with HubSpot Olympic Gold Medalist Colleen Coyne, originally uploaded by HubSpot.

The author of this photo adds:
HubSpot.tv co-host Karen Rubin with HubSpot Olympic Gold Medalist Colleen Coyne

Shawn Johnson (United States) 3

Added by the author: United States' Shawn Johnson smiles during the women's qualification of the artistic gymnastics event of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing on August 10, 2008. AFP PHOTO / KAZUHIRO NOGI (Photo credit should read KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images)

Nastia Liukin (Gold) and Shawn Johnson (Silver)

Congratulations to Nastia Liukin for winning the Gold in the Olympics All-Around, and Shawn Johnson for winning the Silver. You Go Girls!!!

Shawn Johnson (United States) 2

Shawn Johnson (United States), originally uploaded by jodfevic.

The author adds: United States' Shawn Johnson competes on the uneven bars during the women's qualification of the artistic gymnastics event of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing on August 10, 2008. AFP PHOTO / KAZUHIRO NOGI (Photo credit should read KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images)

Shawn Johnson (United States)

The author adds: United States' Shawn Johnson competes on the balance beam during the women's qualification of the artistic gymnastics event of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing on August 10, 2008. AFP PHOTO / KAZUHIRO NOGI (Photo credit should read KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP/Getty Images)