IOC To Launch Investigation Into Ages Of Chinese Gymnasts

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 Friday.

Messages for the International Gymnastics Federation were not immediately returned.

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 Jang 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.

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HuffPost published official documents last week showing that Chinese gymnast He Kexin was 14 years old and underage. See them here in "Scandal of the Ages: Documents Reveal Underage Chinese Gymnast."