Home » Sports » Gymnastics
Bronze at risk over age claim
Source: Agencies |
February 28, 2010, Sunday
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THE six Chinese women gymnasts who won a team bronze at the 2000 Sydney Olympics are likely to be forced to return their medals after one of them was found to have falsified her age.
An International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) probe has found Dong Fangxiao was younger than the minimum age requirement of 16 during the 2000 Games after she registered different ages at Sydney and the Beijing Games eight years later.
"Consequently, the results obtained by Dong Fangxiao at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games have been cancelled," the FIG said in a statement.
"The FIG Executive Committee decision was forwarded to the IOC Executive Board with the recommendation to withdraw the bronze medal obtained by the Chinese team including the results of Dong Fangxiao in Sydney."
The Chinese Gymnastics Association (CGA) reacted immediately yesterday, expressing strong regret over the FIG sanction.
"From the concrete and objective evidence available, there is no problem in Dong Fangxiao's age and therefore we greatly regret the FIG's sanction," it said in a press release.
The FIG statement said Dong had registered a January 20, 1983, birth date at Sydney, but when accredited to act as "secretary" at vault at the 2008 Beijing Games, she had declared her birth date as January 23, 1986.
"This birth date implies that she would have been 14 years old during the Sydney Olympic Games," it said.
Dong will also have her results at the 1999 artistic gymnastics world championships in Tianjin cancelled, along with those obtained at the FIG World Cup Series from 1999 to 2000 and at the 2000 artistic gymnastics world cup final in Glasgow, the statement said.
In a separate probe into Dong's Sydney teammate Yang Yun, who won a bronze in the uneven bars, there was insufficient evidence to prove age fraud.
The case against Yang, wife of Olympic champion Yang Wei, was triggered when she said on Chinese TV before the Beijing Games that she was 14 when competing at Sydney.
An International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) probe has found Dong Fangxiao was younger than the minimum age requirement of 16 during the 2000 Games after she registered different ages at Sydney and the Beijing Games eight years later.
"Consequently, the results obtained by Dong Fangxiao at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games have been cancelled," the FIG said in a statement.
"The FIG Executive Committee decision was forwarded to the IOC Executive Board with the recommendation to withdraw the bronze medal obtained by the Chinese team including the results of Dong Fangxiao in Sydney."
The Chinese Gymnastics Association (CGA) reacted immediately yesterday, expressing strong regret over the FIG sanction.
"From the concrete and objective evidence available, there is no problem in Dong Fangxiao's age and therefore we greatly regret the FIG's sanction," it said in a press release.
The FIG statement said Dong had registered a January 20, 1983, birth date at Sydney, but when accredited to act as "secretary" at vault at the 2008 Beijing Games, she had declared her birth date as January 23, 1986.
"This birth date implies that she would have been 14 years old during the Sydney Olympic Games," it said.
Dong will also have her results at the 1999 artistic gymnastics world championships in Tianjin cancelled, along with those obtained at the FIG World Cup Series from 1999 to 2000 and at the 2000 artistic gymnastics world cup final in Glasgow, the statement said.
In a separate probe into Dong's Sydney teammate Yang Yun, who won a bronze in the uneven bars, there was insufficient evidence to prove age fraud.
The case against Yang, wife of Olympic champion Yang Wei, was triggered when she said on Chinese TV before the Beijing Games that she was 14 when competing at Sydney.
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