国際体操連盟
In early 2008, Yang Yun, an artistic gymnast who had won two bronze medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics, was stripped of one of them, the team medal, when details of under-age teammate Dong Fangxiao were exposed, after Dong admitted on state-run television that she was 14 when she had competed. Consequently, there was frequent speculation that members of the Chinese women's gymnastics team were 14 years of age or under, violating the minimum age requirements of International Federation of Gymnastics (FIG), the governing body of the sport, that requires gymnasts to be 16. Younger gymnasts are lighter and more supple than adult gymnasts, and have also been said to be more fearless when performing difficult manoeuvres.