IOC to Probe Chinese Gymnast's Age

But some of the 2000 competitors were too young, FIG says

(AP) - China's 2008 gold medal gymnasts are in the clear, after international gymnastics officials said today the documentation provided confirms the women were old enough to compete. But the Chinese team that won the bronze medal 8 years ago still faces questions about the age of two competitors. More»

Government, corporations give athletes big bucks on top of Olympic glory

(NEWSER) - Decades ago, bringing glory to the motherland would have been the sole reward for victorious Chinese Olympians. The glory is still there—plenty of it, as China leads the gold medal table—but champions can now expect an average reward of $300,000 in cash and bonuses, even before corporate sponsorship deals roll in, the Los Angeles Times reports. More»

(AP) - Just 9 months before the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government's news agency, Xinhua, reported that gymnast He Kexin was 13, which would have made her ineligible to be on the team that won a gold medal this week. In its report Nov. 3, Xinhua identified He as one of "10 big new stars" who made a splash at China's Cities Games. It gave her age as 13 and reported that she beat Yang Yilin on the uneven bars at those games. More»

China furious over treatment of former sports hero

(NEWSER) - The fate of one former gymnastics prodigy has sparked outrage in China, following revelations that he has been reduced to begging on the streets of Beijing. Zhang Shangwu, 28, was sent to a gymnastics academy at age 5, made the national team at age 12, and in 2001 won two gold medals at the World University Games, the Telegraph reports. He was a shoo-in for the 2004 Olympic team, until an Achilles tendon injury forced him to retire—with a government payout of around $6,000. More»

Gymnast Dong Fangxiao was just 14 at the time

(AP) - China was stripped of a bronze medal from the 2000 Sydney Olympics today for fielding an underage female gymnast, with the women's team medal now going to the US. The International Olympic Committee acted after investigations by the sport's governing body determined that Dong Fangxiao was only 14 at the 2000 Games. Gymnasts must turn 16 during the Olympic year to be eligible. More»