International Olympic Committee Promises to Investigate Chinese Gymnast's Age

The Chinese gymnast He Kexin, who won the gold medal in the uneven bars and won another gold for China in the team competition, has long been the subject of scrutiny surrounding her age.

Chinese Womens Gymnastics Team

Chinese gymnast He Kexin wears her gold medal for the uneven bars during the first Doha Gymnastics World Cup at the Aspire Academy in the Qatari capital of Doha on March 5, 2008. AFP PHOTO/KARIM JAAFAR (Photo credit should read KARIM JAAFAR/AFP/Getty Images)

Karim Jaafar, AFP / Getty Images

(L-R) Silver medallist Nastia Liukin of the U.S., gold medallist Shawn Johnson of the U.S. and bronze medallist Cheng Fei of China pose during the medal presentation ceremony for the gymnastics women's beam final at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 19, 2008. REUTERS/Reinhard Krause (CHINA)

Reuters

China's Li Shanshan falls as she competes in the women's balance beam final of the artistic gymnastics event of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing on August 19, 2008. United States' Shawn Johnson won the gold, United States' Nastia Liukin the silver and China's Fei Cheng the bronze. AFP PHOTO / LLUIS GENE (Photo credit should read LLUIS GENE/AFP/Getty Images)

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China's Li Shanshan competes in the women's balance beam final of the artistic gymnastics event of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing on August 19, 2008. United States' Shawn Johnson won the gold, United States' Nastia Liukin the silver and China's Fei Cheng the bronze. AFP PHOTO / LLUIS GENE (Photo credit should read LLUIS GENE/AFP/Getty Images)

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BEIJING - AUGUST 19: Cheng Fei of China competes during the Women's Beam Final at the National Indoor Stadium on Day 11 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 19, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

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News organizations have reported that she's 14 -- which would make her two years too young to compete under Olympic rules -- and the eyeball test tells us that she doesn't look 16, which is how old the Chinese government claims she is.

Now the International Olympic Committee says it's going to investigate. The Times of London reports:

The investigation was triggered as a US computer expert claimed today 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.

The International Olympic Committee has taken a "see no evil, hear no evil" approach to China during the Games, but it's long past time for this investigation to commence. The evidence appears strong that He is too young to compete. That means she should be disqualified, and the silver medalists (the Americans in the team competition and Nastia Liukin in the uneven bars) deserve the gold.