He Kexin
Gymnast He Kexin, China's top-rated competitor on the uneven bars, may have been too young to compete in the 2008 Olympics.1 According to various sources, she may be as young as 14-years-old, making her well short of the minimum age requirement of 16 years.2 She is one of two Chinese gymnasts under scrutiny for their age, the other being Yang Yilin.1
Fast Facts
- Competed in the Women’s Artistic Gymnastics event
- Age minimum varies according to event
- For He Kexin's event, athletes must be 16 years old by the end of the year in which they compete3
- Kexin won two gold medals at the 2008 Summer Games4
Conflicting Sources
He Kexin's age has been variously noted by different Chinese sources as 14, 15 and 16. The Chinese government has provided her passport as proof of her legitimacy: it specifies her age as 16. However, on November 3, 2007, a Chinese official made a public statement referring to the young athlete as a "13-year-old uneven-bar gymnast," which would make her no more than 14 for a competition that takes place less than nine months later.2 A southern Chinese sports authority, the Chengdu Sports Bureau, lists her birth date as January 1, 1994, making her 14 years 7 months.2
Investigation
On August 21, 2008, the IOC asked the International Gymnastics Federation to investigate the ages of gymnasts He Kexin and Yang Yilin after new evidence of Kexin's real age has reportedly surfaced. Computer security expert, Mike Walker, claims to have uncovered two documents that were previously removed from a Chinese government website that indicates that He Kexin was born on January 1, 1994, which makes her 14 years old.5 6
Although IOC president Jacques Rogge stated that the paperwork that had been reviewed has supported the claim that Kexin was in fact 16 at the time of the Olympics, the International Gymnastics Federation is still in the process of verifying that information.7
Related Pages on Mahalo
Yang Yilin | Summer Olympics 2008 | Chinese Gymnasts Underage | Summer Olympics | Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony 2008 | Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony 2008 | Summer Olympics TV Schedule
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