A Chinese Olympic gymnastics champion whose age is under investigation had her date of birth incorrectly registered at a tournament last year, leading to inaccurate reports of her age, Chinese officials said Sunday.

The International Olympic Committee this week asked the international gymnastics ruling body to probe the age of He Kexin following the emergence of Chinese media reports from last year that, if accurate, indicated she was younger than the 16-year-old minimum for Olympic gymnastics.

BEIJING -- The competition long over and with the Olympics about to end, China's gold medal women's gymnastics team was still awaiting one final ruling from the judges.

Officials from the International Gymnastics Federation pored over documents Saturday in hopes of putting to rest, once and for all, persistent questions about the ages of all but one member of the six-person team. Chinese gymnastics officials handed over passports, ID cards and family residence permits after the FIG -- at the request of the International Olympic Committee -- asked for additional documentation on He Kexin, Yang Yilin, Jiang Yuyuan, Deng Linlin and Li Shanshan.

Matt Dunham, APMany question the age of Chinese gymnast He Kexin - 16, or 14?

A stack of available documentation shows that China apparently altered the ages of some of its female gymnasts, who won six medals here, including the team event. According to government forms dug up by a variety of media outlets as well as a resourceful Web expert, double-gold medalist He Kexin is only 14, and therefore ineligible. On the other hand, according to her most recent Chinese passport and a copy of a birth certificate, she is 16. This is an admittedly difficult situation to arbitrate, but isn't that what sports federations and the International Olympic Committee are supposed to be here for? As opposed to visiting the hospitality buffets?

Amy Sancetta/Associated PressHe Kexin is one of the Chinese gymnasts the IOC has asked the International Gymnatics Federation to investigate whether she is at least 16 years old, the minimum wage to compete.

BEIJING -- The International Olympic Committee said Friday it had asked gymnastics officials to investigate whether the Chinese women's gymnastics team that won the gold medal had underage athletes, saying "more information has come to light."

"We've asked the gymnastics federation to look into it further," IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said. "If there is a question mark and we have a concern, which we do, we ask the governing body of any sport to look into it."

The IOC, which also asked the Chinese gymnastics federation to investigate, would not give details on what new information prompted it to act now, three days after the gymnastics competition ended.

Messages for the International Gymnastics Federation were not immediately returned.

Chinese coach Lu Shanzhen told the Associated Press they gave the FIG new documents Thursday to try to remove the doubts about He Kexin's age, including an old passport, a residency card and her current ID card.

Donna McWilliam / APGymnast Nastia Liukin, front, is greeted by fellow Olympic champion Carley Patterson after arriving Thursday at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Grapevine, Texas, from the Olympic Games in China. Liukin won five medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, including gold in the women's all-around gymnastic finals.

GRAPEVINE, TEXAS -- Amid deafening screams, several hundred people welcomed Olympic gold medalist Nastia Liukin back home to Texas on Thursday.

The flag-waving crowd at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport included gymnasts she trains with, pint-sized fans and fellow gold medalist and friend Carly Patterson, who trained at the same gym.

"I was not expecting anything like this. I thought it was going to be a few girls from the gym and coaches," said Liukin, who was wearing a dark blue T-shirt with Chinese letters, a pair of jeans and white sneakers.

The 18-year-old champion said she plans to spend time with friends and family and her grandparents, who came in from Russia, before she goes on tour Sept. 1.

She also wasn't ruling out another trip to the Olympics, "2012 isn't out of the question right now, but I'm taking it one day at a time," Liukin said.

When asked about the tiebreaker controversy, Liukin said that all she could do was focus on the competition. "The rules are the rules and you have to play by the rules," she said.

She had a similar response when asked to comment on allegations that some of the Chinese girls were underage, saying "We can only control our performances."

Amy Sancetta, APJonathan Horton performs his silver-medal routine on Tuesday in Beijing.

"Please don't let me die," Horton said.

He was going onto the horizontal bar and trying a "crazy" routine (his description) that he had performed, well, never. Not in practice or in competition. Having broken his nose on the bar a few months ago, Horton knew all too well how much of a risk he was taking.

The reward? Horton won a silver medal, second to China's Zou Kai, capping a surprisingly good Olympics for a U.S. men's team that lost stars Paul and Morgan Hamm to injuries just before the Games.

Rob Carr, APU.S. gymnast Shawn Johnson didn't have to settle for silver on Tuesday, winning the gold medal on the balance beam.

Beijing -- Jerry Seinfeld always says that the silver medal at the Olympics has to be the worst one. Think about this: If you win gold, you feel good, obviously. And if you win the bronze medal, hey, you finished third, and you still get a nice parting gift, something like the home version of the Olympics.

But, as Seinfeld says: "When you win that silver, it's like, 'Congratulations, you almost won. Of all the losers, you came in first of that group. You're the No. 1 loser."

That sounds harsh, maybe, but the Olympics can be harsh, and not only for professional comedians. It was at the Olympics where a reporter asked the Moroccan runner Hiram El Guerrouj, "How does it feel to let down 30 million people?" It was at the Olympics that an athlete, a weightlifter, I believe, was presented with the more direct query: "You're a national disgrace. Please respond."

BEIJING -- Shawn Johnson's smile was a thousand times wider than the balance beam she had just conquered. Finally, it was a golden grin.

Associated PressU.S. gymnast Shawn Johnson performs on the balance beam during the gymnastics apparatus finals at the Beijing Olympics.

The world champion made a habit of collecting silver at the Beijing Games, not a bad custom, but not exactly everything she came to China for. She ended her runner-up streak today with a beam routine that blew away the field, including all-around champ Nastia Liukin, behind whom Johnson got one of her three silvers.

"It's crazy," the 16-year-old Johnson said. "I remember seeing Nastia have hers from the all-around and it is so pretty. Silver is really pretty, too.

"It's the best feeling ever."

Johnson won the gold despite a headache earlier in the day.

"This is what we expected to see," her coach Liang Chow said. "The thing I really am pleased with is she was a little under the weather and she still was able to do a wonderful routine."

Rob Carr / APU.S. gymnast Nastia Luikin tied with China's He Kexin with the top score in the uneven bars but was awarded silver on a compliicated tiebreaker.

BEIJING -- There are no ties in Olympic gymnastics.

Nastia Liukin learned the hard way Monday in the uneven bars, losing a gold-medal tiebreaker to China's He Kexin before admissions of confusion over rules, allegations of unfair judging and questions about gymnasts' ages.

Neither Liukin, 18, of Plano, Texas, nor He, 16, knew the gold medalist when they posted 16.725 scores with high-flying routines. Ditto for Liukin's father and coach, Valeri, and 18,000 fans, most waving Chinese flags and screaming at the top of their lungs.

Only after the last gymnast in the eight-person final performed did the public-address announcer declare He the winner of the complicated tiebreaker, determined by a computation of the averages of six judges' scores.

"It wasn't that I got second by three- or five-tenths," Liukin said. "I had the same exact score, and that's what makes it a little bit harder to take. Unfortunately, you can't control the judges. After you land the dismount, it's all up to them."

The tiebreaker went to He by 0.33 of a point because she had a lower average of form deductions on her routine. The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) used its second tiebreaker, taking the average of the three lowest deductions of the four possible.

Matt DunhamU.S. gymnast silver medal winner Nastia Liukin, right, is congratulated by China's gold medal winner He Kexin during the uneven bars apparatus finals at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing today.

Both scored 16.725, but He got the nod because her execution marks were closer to a perfect 10 than Liukin's.

Liukin would not criticize the scoring system that does not award dual gold medals.

"It's nothing I can control, and honestly, I can say it has been very fair to me, and I got the biggest gold medal of them all," said Liukin, winner of the women's all-around gymnastics gold.

BEIJING -- Up first on the schedule, Shawn Johnson delivered a terrific performance in floor exercise Sunday and then waited for her golden Olympic moment.

APGold medal-winning gymnast Sandra Izbasa from Romania, middle, is flanked by floor exercise runner-up Shawn Johnson of the U.S., left, and Nastia Liukin of the U.S.

"I gave what I could," Johnson said. "You train for gold. You don't say, 'I'm going to train for that silver medal.' Honestly, I don't care about scores, I don't care about placement. I just want to go out and hit the best routine that I can."

Johnson's coach, Liang Chow, said Johnson did just that.

"It was a gold medal performance," Chow said.

Julie Jacobson, APU.S. gymnasts Nastia Liukin, left, and Shawn Johnson have refused to join the chorus of criticism after the U.S. lost to the Chinese in the women's team competition earlier this week.

Beijing -- The adults running the U.S. gymnastics team had called their rivals "little babies" and "half people," made allegations of phony passports and even pointed out missing baby teeth.

Rob Carr, APNastia Liukin, above, won the gold medal in the all-around competition on Friday, while teammate Shawn Johnson took silver.

The gymnastics competition in Beijing had taken on a WWE feel this week, only with sequins replacing pile drivers. Through it all, the two teenage stars not only soared on the balance beam and the uneven bars, they stayed on the high road.

Let this be the most important lesson from what Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson accomplished here. They finished 1-2 in the all-around competition, and their medals no doubt will inspire thousands of young girls around the country in the future.

With any luck, those girls also will notice the way they handled themselves in defeat two days earlier. As almost everyone in the gymnastics community -- including coach Martha Karolyi and her famous husband, Bela -- griped about a victorious Chinese team they believe used three underage players, Liukin and Johnson said nothing.

BEIJING -- Elegance and power, almost in equal portions. A combination that just shouldn't work.

Yet it's what women's gymnastics requires. When done precisely, it is mesmerizing. Just like Nastia Liukin's command performance at the Beijing Olympics today.

APU.S. gymnast Nastia Liukin stands with her gold medal after winning the womens' gymnastics individual all-around finals at the Beijing Olympics.

In an intense climax to a friendly rivalry with U.S. teammate Shawn Johnson, Liukin won the all-around gold medal. The 18-year-old daughter of a two-time Olympic champion, Liukin displayed the grace of a ballerina and the strength of, well, her dad in edging Johnson and breaking China's stranglehold on gold. Yang Yilin of China took bronze, the first time the Chinese were not atop the medals podium in gymnastics.

It was no surprise, though, because Liukin and Johnson have been the world's best gymnasts for two years. On this day, the difference between them was six-tenths of a point.

"Everything pays off for this very moment," Liukin said. "You can only think of good things."

BEIJING -- Deep inside, beyond the muscles and mind-set it takes to be an Olympic champion, Yang Wei felt an obligation to do more for his people. He needed to bring relief from the tragedies that have recently struck China.

APChina's gymnast Yang Wei holds his gold medal after winning the men's individual all- around competition at the Beijing Olympics.

While no sports success can erase the pain of thousands dying in earthquakes, floods and blizzards, Yang recognizes that even the slightest comfort is welcome. He was thrilled to have provided it today, at last winning the all-around gymnastics gold medal he has chased for eight years.

"The Chinese team is responsible for a lot of people's dreams," Yang said. "This year has not been very good for China. There's been a lot of disasters, so these Olympic Games, there's a lot of pressure. It's impossible not to be nervous, and it's how to cope with the nerves is our job. And right now, I feel very excited."

Excited, relieved and, well, just plain thankful that he stuck around.

Beijing -- One more interview remained -- a hometown TV station.

One more painful minute to keep from crying again.

Matt Dunham, APTeammates of U.S. gymnast Alicia Sacramone, who made two critical errors on Wednesday morning, are not blaming her for the team falling short of the gold medal.

One final set of whys and hows to answer before Alicia Sacramone could escape from the most miserable day of her life.

She smiled bravely, because 20-year-old Ivy League college students are supposed to be able to handle moments like this.