Olympics | Chinese gymnasts might be too young

Two female Chinese gymnasts, including a gold-medal favorite, might be too young to participate in the upcoming Beijing Olympics.

Several online records and reports show He Kexin, the host nation's top competitor on uneven bars, and Jiang Yuyuan might not yet be 16, the minimum age for Olympic eligibility. Both were chosen for China's team last week.

On the Web site of the Chengdu Sports Bureau — Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan province in southwest China — a file dated January 2006 shows He Kexin as being born Jan. 1, 1994.

Most recently, a May 23 story in the China Daily newspaper, the official English-language paper of the Chinese government, had He's age as 14.

The newspaper story begins: "The 14-year old newcomer to the national team, who was recruited last year, has raised a lot of eyebrows recently after she broke two world records on the uneven bars in as many months."

The New York Times raised questions about the athletes' ages in a story Saturday. And Chinese officials provided the newspaper with copies of passports indicating both gymnasts are 16.

But in a speech on Nov. 3, 2007, in the central city of Wuhan, Liu Peng, director of general administration of sport for China, said: "The 13-year-old uneven-bar gymnast He Kexin, who defeated national team athlete Yang Yilin — she just won the bronze medal in the world championships — has demonstrated her ability."

To be eligible for the Cities Games where Liu made his remarks, Chinese documents show athletes must be over 13, but under 15.

Notes

• Troy Dumais defended his 3-meter springboard title at the United States diving championships in Pasadena, Calif., his final meet before the Olympics.

Dumais, of Ventura, Calif., earned four 10s on his front 2 ½ with two twists to finish with 521.90 points for his 26th national title.

• A high-ranking U.S. judo official resigned amid accusations that nearly 30 years ago he molested teenage competitors he coached.

Fletcher Thornton's resignation from USA Judo's board of directors took effect Friday, a day before The New York Times published a story about the allegations.

• Three-time discus world champion Franka Dietzsch, 40, of Germany will skip the Beijing Olympics after a series of health problems.