IOC Again Says There Is No Proof That Chinese Gymnasts Were Underage

Despite asking the International Gymnastics Federation to investigate allegations that Chinese gymnasts are underage, the IOC says there in no proof that there was cheating and that the issue will be put to rest:

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

Lu said the Chinese gave the FIG documents Thursday evening that included the current and former passport, ID card and family residence permit for double gold medalist He Kexin. Lu said the documents all say she was born in 1992, which makes her eligible to compete. Gymnasts must turn 16 at some point during the Olympic year in order to be eligible.

"We believe the matter will be put to rest and there's no question ... on the eligibility," Davies said. "The information we have received seems satisfactory in terms of the correct documentation -- including birth certificates."

The FIG is preparing their own statement.

All of this was kicked up again when a computer analyst dug up some data on the internets that said multi-gold medalist He Kexin was born in 1994 ... making her two years younger than the minimum age. This came after the AP discovered that He and teammate Yang Yilin were too young to compete (the AP even found documentation that Yang's birthdate had been changed to make her older).

China's gymnastics coach Lu Shanzhen shoots all this down with the common you can't believe everything you read on the internet defense. Lu also went on to use a South Park-esque trick ... we're sooooo small:

"If you trust every Web site but not a government ... There are so many Web sites, so much hearsay," Lu said. "These are not official. It is possible that all news on the Internet is accurate?"

China's team did look noticeably younger than the Americans, who finished with the silver medal in the team competition. The Americans, though, had two 20-year-olds on their team, and all-around gold medalist Nastia Liukin turns 19 this fall.

"At this competition, the Japanese gymnasts were just as small as the Chinese," the coach said. "Chinese competitors have for years all been small. It is not just this time. It is a question of race. European and American athletes are all powerful, very robust. But Chinese athletes cannot be like that. They are by nature that small."

Did you expect any different from an IOC who has been bowing down to China ever since they awarded the games to Beijing nearly a decade ago?