IOC Wants Gymnasts’ Ages Investigated

By Sonya Bryskine & Jan Jekielek, Epoch Times Staff The International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed to The Epoch Times today that it has asked the International Gymnastics Federation to investigate the Chinese gymnastics underage fiasco, following new evidence that at least two gymnasts competed under the legal age in the Olympics.

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After the initial dismissal of the claims, the IOC said in an email that there have been “additional elements on this subject.” Emmanuelle Moreau, IOC’s Media Relations Manager in Beijing, said in an email to The Epoch Times that, “the IOC has therefore asked the International Gymnastics Federation to endeavour to find out more. We understand they are doing so immediately.” More evidence has emerged in the last two days that two of the girls, He Kexin and Yang Yilin, were 14 years old and not 16, as claimed by the Chinese authorities. The Epoch Times has unearthed Chinese regime sources that confirm the girls' ages (see related articles). The widely publicised blog site by hacker “stryde.hax” has detailed documents found in search engine caches that suggest He Kexin's real birth year to be 1994. All of the links to the documents have been rapidly disappearing from live sites, sparking concerns of internet censorship. Philippe Filacci, Head of Media Operations for the International Gymnastics Federation, presently in Beijing, confirmed that he was aware of the new evidence. "We are investigating it," he said in a phone interview. When contacted by The Epoch Times about this issue, a BOCOG Legal Department representative denied the allegations. The General Office, Sports Department and Media and Communications branches of BOCOG could not be reached for a comment Related Articles Take Care, Chinese Gymnastic Girls! Chinese Gymnasts 14, Official Document Shows (update) Gymnast Age Evidence Disappears From Internet Google Caught Censoring Net, Says Hacker