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.The New York Times: Records Say Chinese Gymnasts May Be Under Age 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.USA Today: Are Chinese gymnasts too young for Olympics? (July 27, 2008) She is one of two Chinese gymnasts under scrutiny for their age, the other being Yang Yilin.The New York Times: Records Say Chinese Gymnasts May Be Under Age

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.USA Today: Are Chinese gymnasts too young for Olympics? (July 27, 2008) A southern Chinese sports authority, the Chengdu Sports Bureau, lists her birth date as January 1, 1994, making her 14 years 7 months.USA Today: Are Chinese gymnasts too young for Olympics? (July 27, 2008)

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.Epoch Times: IOC Wants Gymnasts' Ages Investigated (August 21, 2008) Times Online: International Olympic Committee launches probe into He Kexin's age

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.AHN: Chinese Documents On Gymnasts' Ages OK So Far, IOC Says (August 25, 2008)