China's golden gymnasts say they're not underage

Beijing: China's gold medal-winning women's gymnastics team denied any of its members were underage on Wednesday after winning an epic battle with the United States for the Olympic team title.

The Chinese continue to face questions about the age of three of their six women gymnasts, despite repeated assurances from Beijing Olympics officials that they turn 16 this year, as required under Olympic rules.

The New York Times reported last month that online records showed two members of China's women's team, He Kexin and Jiang Yuyuan, may be only 14.

The age of a third athlete, Yang Yilin, then came into question when the state-run China Central Television (CCTV) website posted a profile indicating she too was 14.

The gymnasts were shielded from the media ahead of the Games but held a press conference after Wednesday's win where they had to answer the allegations directly for the first time.

"My real age is 16, I don't care about what other people say, it's none of my business," He said when asked about her age. "I want people to know that."

She was even asked to reveal her zodiac sign as it indicates in which year you were born under the 12-year cycle of the Chinese astrological system.

She replied monkey, meaning she was born in 1992, which would make her 16 this year and eligible for the Olympics.

Journalists also asked her how she celebrated her 15th birthday, to which she replied she was at a training camp with her fellow gymnasts.

Due to concerns about the wellbeing of young gymnasts whose bodies are under huge stress when they reach the elite level, officials introduced a rule in 1997 saying they had to turn 16 during an Olympic year to compete at the Games.

According to their offical biographies, the youngest gymnast on the Chinese team is Yang, who turns 16 on August 26.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge initially laid responsibility for enforcing the age limit on China's national gymnastics federation.

However, as the controversy continued, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) issued a statement last Saturday saying the IOC had examined all Olympic gymnast's passports and determined none were underage.

"The FIG has received confirmation from the International Olympic Committee that all passports are valid for all gymnasts competing in the Beijing Olympic Games," FIG said in a statement.

China runs huge state-funded athletics academies and has long faced criticism for the harsh regime it uses to prepare young gymnasts.

In a BBC report in 2005, British Olympic rowing great Matthew Pinsent described children in a Beijing gymnasium being pushed through the pain barrier and said one young boy had clearly been beaten by his coach.