KROHA

eligibility arose during the
FIG's investigation into the
ages of the Chinese team

that won the gold medal at

the 2008 Beijing Games.

Media reports and Internet

records suggested some of

the girls could have been
as young as 14.
The FIG cleared the Beijing
Games gymnasts in
October 2008 after Chinese
officials provided original
passports, ID cards and
family registers showing all
of the gymnasts were old
enough to compete. But the
FIG said it wasn't satisfied
with "the explanations and
evidence provided to date"
for Dong and a second
gymnast, Yang Yun.
Dong's accreditation
information for the Beijing
Olympics, where she
worked as a national
technical official, listed her
birthday as Jan. 23, 1986.
That would have made her
14 in Sydney — too young
to compete. Her birth date in
the FIG database is listed
as Jan. 20, 1983.
Dong's blog also said she
was born in the Year of the
Ox in the Chinese zodiac,
which dates from Feb. 20,
1985, to Feb. 8, 1986.
FIG investigators didn't find
sufficient evidence to prove
Yang, who also won a
bronze medal on uneven
bars in 2000, was
underage. She received a
warning from the FIG.
"We are extremely grateful