"The International Olympic Committee has stripped China of its bronze medal for those Olympics for using an underage female gymnast." (MSNBC)

It's not the gymnasts from the Beijing games, it's the girl from 10 years ago in Sydney. The IOC determined Dong Fangxiao was only 14 at the time. Gymnasts must be 16 to be eligible. They suspected another girl was also underage, but didn't have the evidence to prove it.

ESPN's Sports Center reports how the decision affects the medal count.

"That decision means that the United States gymnastics team, which had left Sydney with a fourth place finish, will now receive bronze medals, a decade after the competition."

In February, an investigation by the International Federation of Gymnastics concluded the girl was underage and recommended to the IOC that the medal be withdrawn. A blog on Back Porch Fanhouse says that's not the real story.

"The real story here shouldn't be about the Chinese team, it should be about the American women, who were considered a major disappointment in 2000 as the only woman's team in decades to leave the Olympics without a medal."

Even though the U.S. team is getting the medal by default, Deadspin says China's story about the age discrepancy is hard to believe.

"China kind of threw her under the bus, claiming she forged her own documents and tricked their Olympic committee. We find it hard to believe a 14-year-old girl could fool such a tightly run bureaucracy. But a 16-year-old girl, on the other hand."

But what about those girls from the Beijing Games in 2008? The BBC reports they've already been cleared.

"The FIG had previously cleared five Chinese gymnasts suspected of being underage at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, after Chinese officials provided original passports, ID cards and family registers showing all of the gymnasts were old enough to compete."

So what do you think? Should there be tougher standards for athletes to prove their age before competition?

Writer: Erika Roberts
Producer: Newsy Staff