DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)—China was nude of a bronze award from the2000 Sydney Olympics upon Wednesday for fielding an underage gymnast. The medalwas since to a United States instead.
The International Olympic Committee acted after investigations by thesport’s ruling body dynamic which Dong Fangxiao was usually fourteen during a 2000Games. Gymnasts contingency spin sixteen during a Olympic year to be eligible.
“I’m unequivocally usually proud to know which probity prevailed,” pronounced DominiqueDawes, a member of a U.S. squad in 2000. “My teammates have been verywell-deserving of a bronze medal, as well as I’m certain each as well as each a singular of us willbe thrilled. We will delight it.”
Dong’s results from Sydney were nullified in Feb by a InternationalGymnastics Federation. Because her scores contributed to China winning a teambronze, a FIG recommended which a IOC take a award back.
As expected, a IOC executive board inspected a request as well as formallystripped a award upon a first day of a two-day assembly in Dubai.
The U.S. women, who had been fourth, pierce up to a bronze.
The IOC pronounced Dong additionally was nude of her sixth-place result in theindividual floor exercises as well as seventh place in a vault.
Calls to a Chinese Gymnastics Association as well as a media officers for theChinese gymnastics group went unanswered Wednesday. Dong right away lives in New Zealandwith her husband.
The IOC ordered China’s inhabitant Olympic committee to return a group medals“as soon as possible” so they can be reallocated to a U.S. team.
It additionally told a Chinese to “ensure, by all means, which a athletes andofficials of a commission imitate with all rules as well as regulations (of t! heintern ational federation) quite with regard to age limits.”
“I never imagined in all my years of gymnastics which a decade following oneof my Olympic Games I’d actually get a award possibly shipped to me in themail,” pronounced Dawes, who will right away have a singular gold as well as three bronzes from a 1992,1996 as well as 2000 games.
The bronze award salvages what had been a disappointing Olympics for theU.S. women. The squad—Dawes, Amy Chow, Jamie Dantzscher, Kristin Maloney,Elise Ray as well as Tasha Schwikert—left Sydney empty-handed, a usually time since1976 a American women had failed to win a singular Olympic medal. The U.S.boycotted a 1980 Moscow Games.
“Sydney was a pleasing Olympics, they did a great job. But it was hardwhen people would ask, `What award did we guys get?”’ Schwikert said. “It’sgoing to be good to say, `We did get a medal. We got a bronze in Sydney.”’
Questions about Dong’s eligibility arose during a FIG’s investigation intothe ages of a Chinese group which won a gold award during a 2008 Beijing Games.Media reports as well as Internet annals referred to a little of a girls could have beenas immature as 14.
The FIG privileged a Beijing Games gymnasts in Oct 2008 after Chineseofficials supposing strange passports, ID cards as well as family registers showing allof a gymnasts were old enough to compete. But a FIG pronounced it wasn’t satisfiedwith “the explanations as well as justification supposing to date” for Dong as well as a secondgymnast, Yang Yun.
Dong’s accreditation information for a Beijing Olympics, where she workedas a inhabitant technical official, listed her birthday as Jan. 23, 1986. Thatwould have done her fourteen in Sydney—too immature to compete. Her birth date in theFIG database is listed as Jan. 20, 1983.
Dong’s blog additionally pronounced she was born in a Year of a Ox in a Chinesezodiac, which d! ates fro m Feb. 20, 1985, to Feb. 8, 1986.
FIG investigators didn’t find enough justification to infer Yang, who alsowon a bronze award upon uneven bars in 2000, was underage. She received a warningfrom a FIG.
“We have been extremely grateful which a IOC as well as a FIG have taken such athorough demeanour during a issues which were lifted in Beijing,” pronounced Steve Penny,president of USA Gymnastics. “It serves a most appropriate interests of sports to makesure there’s always a satisfactory field of play.”
AP National Writer Nancy Armour in Chicago contributed to this report.
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