The underage gymnast scandal that emerged at the Beijing Olympics is finally over, with China ordered to give back a bronze team medal it won 10 years ago in Sydney. Acting on evidence that Dong Fangxiao was only 14 at the 2000 Sydney Games, the International Olympic Committee Wednesday ordered China to return the women's team bronze. It will be given to the United States instead. Gymnasts must turn 16 during the Olympic year to be eligible. "Justice prevailed," said Dominique Dawes, who will now have a medal from each of her three Olympics and four overall. "My teammates are very well-deserving of the bronze medal, and I'm sure each and every one of us will be thrilled. We will cherish it." Age falsification has been a problem in gymnastics since the 1980s, when the minimum age was raised from 14 to 15 to help protect young athletes, whose bodies are still developing, from serious injuries. The International Gymnastics Federation raised the minimum age to its current 16 in 1997. But the issue drew worldwide attention in 2008, when media reports and Internet records suggested some of the girls on China's team that won the gold medal at the Beijing Games could have been as young as 14. With the controversy threatening to overshadow the final days of the Olympics, the IOC ordered the FIG to investigate. IOC disqualifies skier The IOC has disqualified a Polish cross-country skier who tested positive for a blood-boosting drug at the Vancouver Olympics. The International Olympic Committee Thursday stripped Kornelia Marek of all her results from Vancouver. She did not win any medals. Marek tested positive for EPO after helping Poland finish sixth in the 20K relay. She admitted taking injections but said she believed the substances were allowed. Marek has already been suspended for two years by Poland's ski federation. The IOC told the international ski federation to modify the Vancouver results and consider any further action.
