Media reports suggest Chinese female gymnast too young for Olympics

And those reports were published by China's state-run media. On November 3, Xinhua listed He Kexin as being 13, referring to her as "this little girl" (an apt description for any of China's diminutive gold medalists). A May 23 story in China Daily listed He as being 14. Gymnasts must be 16 the year of the Olympics to be eligible to compete. He's birthday is officially listed as January 1, 1992, a rather eye-opening date we must say, signaling that either He is truly 16 or someone is a very lazy liar. He helped China win its first ever women's team gold on Wednesday. China's denies the age-fixing allegations (the ages of two other Chinese gymnasts have also been questioned) and the offending state-media stories have either been "fixed" or erased from the internet. The questions remain: How much of an advantage do you get from using underage gymnasts? And is it better to say you lost to a bunch of really young looking 16-year-olds or to admit you lost to 13-year-olds, some of whom are reportedly missing teeth? [Source]