Chinese Olympic Gymnasts Cleared

Internet postings during the Olympics showed documents that indicated several of the Chinese gymnasts competing in Beijing, above, were underage. (By Al Bello -- Getty Images)

FIG President Bruno Grandi insisted during the Games that the sanctioning body had no way to verify athletes' ages other than by passport data. But as the controversy continued, bolstered by Internet postings of documents indicating the gymnasts were 14, the IOC prodded FIG to investigate further.

That led to the review of additional documents, which proved convincing.

"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 statement said.

Gymnastics requires that athletes be 16 -- or turn 16 in the calendar year -- to compete in the Olympics. There was no such requirement in 1976, when Romania's Nadia Comaneci earned the first perfect 10 at the Montreal Games at age 14.

Advocates of the age minimum say it's necessary to protect young athletes, both physically and emotionally, while they are still developing. Others, including U.S. Olympic team coordinator Martha Karolyi, argue that the requirement should be abolished because it's impossible to police.

China wouldn't be the first country to have flouted the age limits. Romania and North Korea have done so, and other countries have been suspected of as much.

Younger female gymnasts are considered to have an advantage because their center of gravity is higher. They also tend to be less fearful, coaches say, as well as more compliant.