Chinese Gymnasts and the IOC's "Investigation"

It was a dramatic announcement from the International Olympic Committee.

The International Olympic Committee has ordered an investigation into mounting allegations that Chinese authorities covered up the true age of their gold-medal winning gymnastics star because she was too young to compete.

An IOC official told The Times that because of "discrepancies" that have come to light about the age of He Kexin, the host nation’s darling who won gold in both team and individual events, an official inquiry has been launched that could result in the gymnast being stripped of her medals.

The investigation was triggered as a US computer expert claimed yesterday to have uncovered Chinese government documents that he says prove she is only 14 - making her ineligible to compete in the Olympics - rather than 16, as officials in Beijing insist is her age.

Mike Walker, a computer security expert, told The Times how he tracked down two documents that he says had been removed from a Chinese government website. The documents, he said, stated that He’s birth date was January 1 1994 - making her 14 - and not January 1 1992, which is printed in her passport.

It turns out the investigation that was launched by the IOC was a crock, a classic example of CYA.

The IOC has kowtowed to the Chinese. I think the Chinese were sick of the achievements of its "women's" gymnastic team being overshadowed by allegations of cheating.

Solution: Launch an investigation and quickly put the matter to rest definitively.

What sort of investigation can be conducted in just a few hours?

What a joke!

There was no investigation.

It's the same old line that the IOC has been giving all along. The passports are accepted as legitimate.

BEIJING (AP) -- Despite persistent questions about the ages of several members of the Chinese women's gymnastics team that won the gold medal, the International Olympic Committee said Friday there is still no proof anyone cheated.

The IOC asked the International Gymnastics Federation to investigate "what have been a number of questions and apparent discrepancies," spokeswoman Giselle Davies said.

"So far, everything that has been received demonstrates we have no problem for the eligibility of the competitors," said Christophe Dubi, the IOC's sports director.

If the federation had found evidence that the gymnasts were underage, it could have affected four of China's medals. In addition to the team gold and He Kexin's gold on bars, Yang Yilin won bronze medals in the all-around and uneven bars.

Chinese coach Lu Shanzhen told The Associated Press they gave the FIG new documents on Thursday to try to remove any doubts about He's age, including an old passport, residency card and her current ID card.

Lu said all the documents were issued by various departments of the Chinese government, and that he had nothing more to put forth as evidence.

The FIG has said repeatedly that a passport is the "accepted proof of a gymnast's eligibility," and that China's gymnasts have presented ones that show they are age eligible. The IOC also checked the girls' passports and deemed them valid.

Andrei Gueisbuhler, secretary general of the FIG, said the federation would release a statement later Friday.

"For the time being, there is nothing I can add," Gueisbuhler said.

...The IOC said previously that it had verified the passports of all athletes competing at the games.

"We are not in a position to say 'It's good, it's not good.' It's a government document," FIG president Bruno Grandi said earlier this week in an interview with the AP.

The IOC did not give details on what new information prompted it to act now, three days after the gymnastics competition ended.

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

Clearly, the IOC and the FIG aren't taking into account all of the evidence.

The conflicting information about the gymnasts' ages is being ignored.

There couldn't possibly have been time for a thorough investigation to take place.

How do the Chinese explain the discrepancies in the athletes' ages on documents?

It appears that they don't have to explain anything.

There's supposedly no evidence that the Chinese falsified the ages of its gymnasts, no proof.

I think there's evidence that the governing bodies of the Olympics and the sport of gymnastics lack integrity.

This joke of an investigation is proof that cheating is no big deal.


Talk about counterproductive!