Chinese Gymnasts: IOC Investigation Closed

I suspect the controversy about the ages of some members on the Chinese women's gymnastic team at the Beijing Olympics won't be put to rest even though the investigation into allegations of cheating has been officially concluded.

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- 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 5 1/2-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.

The FIG said it shared its conclusions with the International Olympic Committee, which requested the inquiry.

"It is considered that the case is now concluded," the federation said.

...The FIG's announcement that it was closing the investigation on the 2008 team was hardly a surprise. China had insisted — heatedly and repeatedly — that all the girls were old enough to compete, and that it had the documents to prove it.

China provided 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.

"We have received all we could possibly ask for," Gueisbuhler said. "All of them confirm the age that they should be, so what can we do?"

There really is nothing that can be done.

If the Chinese government is willing to lie its way to Olympic success, then it is.

Doubts remain.

Accusations of age falsification have swirled around the Chinese team and have intensified after news outlets found official documents stating alternate (and younger) birth dates for three athletes: He Kexin, Yang Yilin and Jiang Yuyuan. All three of them are old enough according to their passports. The Chinese have been mum on the subject, as expected.

The Chinese are alleged to have cheated in Sydney.

[T]he FIG said it continues to investigate the ages of Chinese gymnasts who competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, particularly Dong Fangxiao and Yang Yun.

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

...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.

"It will probably still take awhile before we can unravel all the legal" matters, Gueisbuhler said. "We have the (statute of limitations), and you have applicable law is also a factor."

"We did not have another choice," Gueisbuhler said last week. "If we want to remain credible, then we have to look into things."

The Chinese Gymnastic Team lacks credibility.

If there was cheating in 2000, it's reasonable to question whether China has given up the practice.

It's legitimate for people to be skeptical about the ages of some of the 2008 Chinese women's gymnastic medalists. The Chinese brought that on themselves.

There can be no victory in cheating. There's no honor in that.