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The International Olympic Committee has ordered an investigation into claims a Chinese gold-medal winning gymnast was too young to compete.
An IOC official told the London Times that an official inquiry had been launched which could lead to He Kexin being stripped of her medals.
The newspaper reported
the investigation would be into "discrepancies" in the over the gymnast's age.
It is claimed she is two years younger than the legal minimum for Olympics competition.
He Kexin - who won the uneven bars event and was part of the victorious women's team - has denied the allegations.
"My real age is 16. I don't pay any attention to what everyone says," she is reported as telling journalists.
He's Chinese-issued 2008 passport lists her birthday as 01/01/1992, making her 16 and old enough to compete in this year's Olympics.
However, speculation has arisen that the tiny gymnast, who looks much younger than other competitors, was actually born two years later and her passport has been doctored to allow her to compete.
The allegations, backed by online documents from China's General Administration of Sport, the Chengdu Sports Bureau and other registration sites, have been reported by media including China's state news service and are being hotly debated on blog sites.
A blogger calling himself Stryde Hax has also uncovered several links that show He's real age as 14.
Adding to the speculation that He's age has been changed to allow her to compete is a speech given by a Chinese sporting official in November 2007 during which she was introduced as a 13-year-old.
The International Gymnastics Federation said repeatedly that a passport was the "accepted proof of a gymnast's eligibility", the Associated Press reported, and that He and China's other gymnasts had presented ones that showed they were eligible.
The International Olympic Committee also checked the girls' passports.
Rules restricting teens under 16 from competing in gymnastics were put into place to avoid the exploitation of younger gymnasts who have more flexible bodies.
Allegations about age-altering have also been made about two other Chinese gymnasts, Jiang Yuyuan and Yang Yilin.
The controversy follows a number of embarrassments for China during the Olympics. Televised images of fireworks at the opening ceremony turned out to be faked, and the 9-year-old girl who sang during the ceremony was only lip-syncing as the real singer was deemed not pretty enough.
