( CNN ) -- China 's Olympic gold medal gymnasts have been officially cleared of lying about their ages . Widespread reports claimed that gold medal winner He Kexin was only 14 years of age . An investigation was launched after the Beijing Games over claims that several members of their women 's squad were ineligible because they were not 16 in the year of competition . But on Wednesday , the International Gymnastics Federation ( FIG ) closed a near six-week probe saying that documentation provided confirms they were old enough to compete . The inquiry had been called for by the International Olympic Committee who were concerned that the controversy undermined the results of the competition in Beijing . Watch tiny gymnasts work out » . China provided passports , ID cards and family registers for He Kexin , Yang Yilin , Jiang Yuyuan , Deng Linlin and Li Shanshan , all showing the girls were 16 or would turn 16 this year . `` We have received all we could possibly ask for , '' FIG secretary general Andre Gueisbuhler told Associated Press . `` All of them confirm the age that they should be , so what can we do ? '' he added . The Chinese women 's gymnastics team won a gold medal in a team competition in Beijing and five members won individual medals . One of the challenges came from a blogger known as `` Stryde Hax . '' The blogger claimed to have uncovered proof that He Kexin is only 14 . In Internet searches , `` Stryde Hax '' allegedly uncovered Web pages showing lists complied by China 's General Administration of Sport that show a 1994 date of birth for He . That would make her 14 -- too young to compete in the Olympic Games . CNN was not been able to independently verify the information , but snapshots of the Web pages appeared to back up the claim . Other bloggers joined the search and reported similar results . The New York Times conducted its own investigation , producing similar results that seem to implicate He and two other members of the team . The Times uncovered a 2006 biography on He that lists her birthday as January 1 , 1994 . But Chinese gymnastics coaches have stridently defended their team . `` Asians have different figures than people from the West , so that 's what caused their suspicion , '' said Huang Yubin , head coach of the men 's and women 's teams , referring to media inquiries . `` They should n't be suspicious . '' It was not all good news for the Chinese gymnasts , with the FIG announcing that it would step up its investigation into the 2000 team which won the bronze medal at the Sydney Olympics , particularly Dong Fangxiao and Yang Yun . Yang , who also won a bronze medal on the uneven bars in 2000 , said in a June 2007 interview that aired on state broadcaster China Central Television that she was only 14 in Sydney . Dong , who was a technical official for the Chinese team in Beijing , allegedly provided documents for her credentials which indicated that she too must have been only 14 in 2000 . Gueisbuhler warned that legal and statute of limitation issues might hinder further scrutiny and sanctions against the 2000 Chinese team . Underage gymnasts have been a problem since the 1980s , when the minimum age was raised from 14 to 15 to protect young athletes from serious injuries . The minimum age was raised to its current 16 in 1997 . North Korea was barred 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 . Romania admitted in 2002 that several gymnasts ' ages had been falsified , including Olympic medalists Gina Gogean and Alexandra Marinescu . In women 's gymnastics , younger teenage girls can have an advantage over older competitors due to their often smaller , more agile bodies and lighter frames . Copyright 2008 CNN . All rights reserved.This material may not be published , broadcast , rewritten , or redistributed . Associated Press contributed to this report .
China 's gold medal gymnasts cleared of competing while under age limit of 16. International Gymnastics Federation announces decision after investigation . The Chinese Olympic Committee said it was "deeply disappointed" by the decision. IOC ordered probe after widespread claims that Chinese squad were too young .