[size=14pt]North Korea banned 2 years for age falsification[/size]


– Fri Nov 5, 2:05 pm ET

[img]http://d.yimg.com/a/p/ap/20101105/capt.9e259e97991f4858a50352704740c4f6-9e259e97991f4858a50352704740c4f6-0.jpg?x=213&y=344&xc=1&yc=1&wc=253&hc=409&q=85&sig=1rzSwnnIdUDUmfwWbPe.bA--[/img]
AP – FILE - This Dec. 4, 2006, file photo shows bronze medalist Hong Su Jong of North Korea during a medal …



LAUSANNE, Switzerland – North Korean gymnasts will miss the 2012 London Olympics under a two-year international suspension for age falsification.
The International Gymnastics Federation ruled that Hong Su Jong listed three different birthdates (1989, 1985 and 1986) in registering for international competitions from 2003 until this year — meaning she would have been too young to compete in the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Hong competed in Athens using a birth year of 1985. If she was born in 1989, that would have made her 14 or 15 — too young to complete. Gymnasts must turn at least 16 in the calendar year of an Olympics to be eligible.


Age falsification has been a problem in gymnastics since the 1980s, when the minimum age was raised from 14 to 15 to help protect still-developing athletes from serious injuries. The minimum age has been 16 since 1997.
The FIG began investigating Hong after she entered last month's worlds using the third different birth date of her career — 1989. She won the silver medal on vault at the 2007 worlds listing 1986 as her birth year.


The federation said Friday it was effectively banning North Korea from any competition outside its borders until Oct. 5, 2012.
"The FIG's decision is a clear signal to those who would willfully disregard the current rules surrounding gymnast age," the FIG said in a statement. "The health of its athletes and respect for the law are among the International Gymnastics Federation's highest priorities."
The FIG requires all gymnasts who represent their countries at most international meets to have a license that proves their age for their entire career.
This is the second time North Korea has been punished for age falsification. The federation was banned from the 1993 world championships after the FIG discovered that Kim Gwang Suk, the 1991 gold medalist on uneven bars, was listed as 15 for three years in a row.


In the ruling, Hong also is barred from national competitions. The North Korean federation also was fined $20,800.
Hong and the North Korean federation have 21 days to appeal.
North Korea was already barred from sending full teams to the London Olympics after it was suspended from last month's world championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands, the first step in team qualification for 2012. But individual gymnasts still could have qualified for London if the FIG had not imposed further punishment.
The FIG's announcement also means North Korean gymnasts can't compete at the Asian Games, which begin next week.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/oly_gym_underage_gymnasts

No be only Naija dey falsify age o.