AMY SANCETTA / AP

In this Sept. 19, 2000 file photo, Chinese gymnasts Yang Yun, left, and Dong Fangxiao wave flowers after receiving the bronze medal in the women's gymnastic team finals at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. Dong was 14 during the Sydney Games, the International Gymnastics Federation said Friday.

She later told the AP that she had misspoken, declining further comment, and the FIG could find nothing else to confirm that she was 14. Documents given to the IOC, the FIG and the Chinese federation list her birthdate as Dec. 2, 1984.

Dong’s results from the 1999 world championships, where China won a bronze medal and she was sixth in the all-around also will be wiped out, the FIG said.

Age falsification has been a problem in gymnastics since the 1980s, after the minimum age was raised from 14 to 15 in an effort to protect young athletes, whose bodies are still developing, from serious injuries. The minimum age was raised to its current 16 in 1997.

Romania admitted some of its gymnasts’ ages had been falsified, including Olympic medalists Gina Gogean and Alexandra Marinescu. Gymnasts from the Soviet Union said their birthdates were changed to allow them to compete. And North Korea was banned from the 1993 world championships after FIG officials discovered Kim Gwang Suk, the 1991 gold medalist on uneven bars, was listed as 15 for three years in a row.

“Maybe as we move forward they will decide we don’t need an age restriction and maybe they will start to look at that now. I wouldn’t be opposed to it,” said Dawes, who was 15 when she competed at the Barcelona Olympics. “It would definitely eliminate any questions of someone’s age as an issue.

“I don’t care if there are 40-year-olds competing. They should allow the best gymnasts in the world to compete.”

To prevent age manipulation, the FIG last year began requiring all junior and senior gymnasts who represent their countries at most international meets to have a license. The licenses include gymnasts’ name, sex, country and date of birth, and are their proof of age for their entire career.