The International Gymnastics Federation is recommending that the Chinese women's 2000 Olympic team be stripped of its team bronze medal after finding that Dong Fangxiao was too young to compete at the Games.
Dong was 14 during the Sydney Olympics, according to a report issued Friday by the International Gymnastics Federation's (FIG) executive committee.
Gymnasts competing at an Olympic Games must turn 16 before the Olympic year is over to be eligible to compete. That rule, which went into effect after the 1996 Olympics, still applies today.
"In the case of Dong Fangxiao, the Executive Committee constituted that there was a violation to the FIG Statutes and Regulations. Consequently, the results obtained by Dong Fangxiao at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games have been cancelled," the FIG said in a statement posted on its website late Friday.
"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."
Dong and her Olympic teammate Yang Yun have been under investigation about their true ages since 2008, when evidence that each of them may have been younger than official documents stated came to light. Dong was entered as a 17-year-old in Sydney, while Yang was 15.
But in 2007, Yang told a CCTV interviewer that she was 14 in 2000, while Dong applied for an accreditation for the 2008 Olympic Games and gave her birthdate as Jan. 23, 1986, which indicated that she had been 14 in 2000.
Dong Fangxiao fluff aired during the 2000 Olympic Games:
On her blog, Dong also stated that she was born in the year of the Tiger, which corresponds to 1986. Dong's husband Li Te gave an interview to a New Zealand newspaper last fall stating that Dong was indeed underage at the 2000 Olympics, but had been cleared of personal wrongdoing.
Dong Fangxiao, 2000 Olympic Games Team Finals, Balance Beam:
Yang, who married 2008 men's Olympic all-around champion Yang Wei after the Beijing Olympics, was cleared of any wrongdoing because she was able to present documents proving she was 16 in Sydney. The only evidence against her stemmed from the 2007 television interview. Yang, who later said she misspoke during the interview, was given a warning by the FIG.
In addition to her Olympic finishes, Dong's previous results from the 1999 World Championships have been nullified.
Dong Fangxiao, 1999 World Championships Team Prelims, Uneven Bars:
The results of the FIG investigation will be forwarded to the International Olympic Committee, which will decide whether or not China gets to keep the team medal that Dong helped win. The U.S., fourth behind the Chinese in 2000, stand to move up to bronze medal position if China's results are declared invalid.
Yang, who also won an individual bronze on uneven bars, will be able to keep that medal.
Yang Yun, 2000 Olympic Games Event Finals, Uneven Bars:
The next stage of this drama will be played by the IOC, the only body with the power to take medals away.
"We can confirm that we have received the ruling from the FIG in the case concerning Dong Fangxiao and Yang Yun, and we take due note of their decision," International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams told the Associated Press. "Clearly, we need to take time to consider the findings before the Executive Board can consider the matter. We would like to thank the FIG for their work and we would refer further inquiries to them."
To prevent such catastrophes in the future, the FIG mandated that beginning after the 2008 Olympic Games, gymnasts must apply for licenses -- a kind of gymnastics passport -- before competing internationally.
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