US Gymnastics Team Gains Team Bronze After China Disqualified

Many people remember the gold-medal winning Chinese gymnastic team from 2008. Not all of the competitors looked like they were 16, which is the minimum age to participate in the Olympics. In 2000, there was at least one underage gymnast: Dong Fangxiao. Her true age wasn't discovered until 2008, when she applied to be an official in the Beijing Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has just ruled that Dong Fangxiao was underage, and has taken away the Chinese bronze medal. This ruling changes the official Olympic record; at the same time, it also shows that the Chinese gymnasts from 2008 could eventually lose their medals, if they are proven to be underage at a later date. There is a lot of data supporting that they were underage as well; if they are proven underage, history could repeat itself.

The Case against China in the 2000 Olympics

In the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the Chinese won the bronze medal. I don't recall that any of the gymnast's ages were in question at the time, but in 2008, Dong Fangxiao applied to be an official at the Beijing Olympics. The paperwork that she provided in 2008 didn't have the same birth date as the official record from the 2000 Olympics. The new paperwork suggested that she would have been 14 when she competed in Sydney, not 16. While another gymnast from 2000, Yang Yun, also is suspected to have been underage, the paperwork that Dong Fangxiao submitted led to an IOC investigation. In their recent meeting, they have ruled that because Dong Fangxiao was underage, the Chinese team will lose their bronze medal from 2000.

The Results of the 2000 Olympics Underage Ruling

Since the Chinese team has been stripped of their medals, the fourth place team will now have the bronze medal. The United States team placed fourth. This means that Amy Chow, Jamie Dantzscher, Dominique Dawes, Kristin Maloney, Elise Ray, and Tasha Schwikert-Warren, the 2000 gymnastics team, will now have their fourth place upgraded to a bronze medal. The Spanish team will now be in fourth place, while the Ukrainian team will now officially be fifth.

Dong Fangxiao did not medal in any other event, but the official record will surely be corrected to reflect her underage status. Her seventh place standing in the vault will be taken by Mexico's Denisse López Sing, while her sixth place finish in the floor exercise will be given to Romania's Andreea Räducan (seventh place will go to Australia's Lisa Skinner). She did not place in the top eight positions in any other event.

The Case against China in the 2008 Olympics

During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, some of the announcers openly questioned the ages of some of the Chinese gymnasts. One of the gymnasts whose age was in question is He Kexin. As of now, the IOC officially accepts He's passport, which states that she was 16 at the time of the 2008 Olympics. The investigation is currently closed. However, a blogger named David Walker did find cached web sites that stated that He was 14 at the time of competition, not 16. While the IOC is currently satisfied with their belief that all the Chinese gymnasts were old enough to compete in 2008, as we can see in the Dong Fangxiao ruling, if further evidence comes up to show that they were underage, the IOC may reopen their case.

What Would Result if He Kexin was Ruled Underage in 2008?

If at a later date, the IOC discovers that He Kexin was underage in 2008, two medals would probably exchange hands. The Chinese team gold medal would be stripped, which would give the United States team the gold, the Russian team the silver, and the Romanian team the Bronze. He's uneven bars gold medal would go to Nastia Liukin; China's Yang Yilin would get the silver medal (unless she was discovered to be underage as well), while Great Britain's Beth Tweddle would receive the bronze. Ukrainian Anastasia Koval is currently in the fifth place spot for the 2008 uneven bars; if both He and Yang Yilin were eventually determined to be underage, Koval would be given the bronze.

For now, only Dong Fangxiao has been determined to be underage. The question of the 2008 gymnasts still remains in the minds of many gymnastics fans; many would not be surprised if they were eventually discovered to be underage like Dong was.

Sources:

Helliker, Keven, and Fowler, Geoffrey A. "China Stripped of Medal From 2000". Wall Street Journal, 29 April 2010.

Lorren, Brooke. "2008 Beijing Olympics". Squidoo.com.

Wallechinsky, David, and Loucky, Jaime. The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition. Aurum Press Ltd. 2008, pp. 713, 721, and 728.

Wikipedia. "Gymnastics at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Women's Artistic Team All-Around".

Wikipedia. "Gymnastics at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Women's Uneven Bars".

Wikipedia. "Yang Yilin".