He Kexin

Although she won two gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, He Kexin gained more attention because of her age. Olympic gymnasts had to be 16-years-old to compete at the 2008 Games, and the date of birth with which He was entered (1 January 1992) meant she was old enough to compete. However, several news reports quoted her with a different age (birth date 1 January 1994), causing a minor controversy. When old entry lists were unearthed showing the 1994 year of birth, the IOC asked International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) to investigate. Chinese official declared the old entry lists to contain a clerical error, and a month after the completion of the Games, FIG quickly closed the “investigation”, having found He old enough to compete. This allowed He to keep her two gold medals, one won on the uneven bars, and one with the Chinese women’s team. She went on to win the 2009 world title and 2010 Asian Games titles on the uneven bars, winning two bronze medals with the Chinese team in 2010 and 2011.