BEIJING — The International Olympic Committee will investigate whether the Chinese women’s gymnastics team that won the gold medal had underage athletes, saying “more information has come to light.” “If there is a question mark and we have a concern, which we do, we ask the governing body of any sport to look into it,” IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said today.
Questions about the ages of at least three of the athletes on China’s team have swirled for months. Online records and newspaper accounts suggest three Chinese gymnasts — He Kexin, Jiang Yuyuan and Yang Yilin — may be as young as 14, but Chinese passport records show they meet the age rules. A gymnast must be 16 in an Olympic year to compete at the Games.
The IOC had said previously that it had verified the passports of all athletes competing at the Games.
Rogers, Dalhausser take beach volleyball gold
Americans Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser beat Brazil in three sets today to win the men’s beach volleyball gold medal.
Dalhausser and Rogers beat Fabio and Marcio 23-21, 17-21, 15-4.
U.S. women’s basketball to play for gold
The U.S. women’s basketball team passed its first test of the Olympics, beating Russia in its closest contest in Beijing.
Diana Taurasi scored 21 points help the U.S. top Russia 67-52 in the semifinals. The U.S. faces Australia in the gold-medal game Saturday.
U.S. women’s volleyball team stuns Cuba
The U.S. women’s volleyball team advanced to the gold-medal game, defeating Cuba in three sets (25-20, 25-16, 25-17).
The United States will play Brazil for the Olympic title Saturday.
Footnotes.
Dutch star Danielle de Bruijn’s late goal ended the gold medal dreams of the U.S. women’s water polo team as the Americans suffered a heartbreaking 9-8 loss.
• South Korea’s Son Tae-jin defeated American Mark Lopez for the gold medal in the men’s 68-kilogram taekwondo competition.
Winning bronze were Taiwan’s Sung Yu-chi and Turkey’s Servet Tazegul. Taekwondo awards two bronze medals in each weight class.
• Portugal’s Nelson Evora won the triple jump gold medal with a jump of 57 feet, 11 3/4 inches.
Britain’s Phillips Idowu took the silver (57-9 3/4) and Leevan Sands of the Bahamas (57-8 1/2) the bronze.
• Russia’s Andrey Moiseev won the men’s pentathlon, outlasting Lithuanians Edvinas Krungolcas (silver) and Andrejus Zadneprov-skis (bronze).
• France’s Anne-Caroline Chausson won the first-ever Olympic gold medal for BMX, finishing first in the high-speed eight-rider women’s final today.
Laetitia Le Corguille of France took the silver, while American Jill Kintner captured the bronze.
• China’s Chen Ruolin won gold in the women’s 10-meter platform.
• Canada’s Eric Lamaze won the gold in the equestrian individual jumping.
• Spain’s Fernando Echavarri and Anton Paz have won the sailing gold medal in the fast Tornado catamaran class.
• Uzbekistan’s Artur Taymazov defeated Russia’s Bakhityar Akhmedov for the freestyle wrestling gold medal at 120 kilograms.
The Associated Press
