Zhang Dan (right) and Zhang Hao win silver at the 2006 Olympic Games. Photo: CFP

By Wu Jie

China's figure skating governing body says apparent discrepancies in the ages of its athletes may have been the result of clerical errors, following a preliminary investigation Tuesday.

The Chinese Skating Association (CSA) launched an investigation into nine Chinese figure skaters who were alleged to have violated competition age limits after discrepancies were found in their birth dates by the Associated Press.

The Chinese skaters' birth dates on the CSA's websites differ from those listed with the International Skating Union (ISU).

The CSA confirmed that the competing ages of the 2006 Olympic pairs silver medalists Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao are accurate, and that the age information listed on the CSA's websites is incorrect.

The association firmly and consistently forbids athletes from giving false ages and cheating, and the original discrepancies may have resulted from mistakes in registration, the Xinhua News agency reported.

"There is nothing wrong with the pairs' ages," Zhou Jing, director of the news office of the General State Administration of Sport of China, told the Global Times Tuesday.

Their data recorded with the ISU is correct, said Zhou.

To protect athletes from injuries, skaters must be 15 by the preceding July 1 to compete at an Olympics or senior world championships, and 14 for other senior-level international competitions, such as the Grand Prix final. Junior skaters must be at least 13 by the previous July 1 but cannot have turned 19 (singles) or 21 (pairs and ice dancers).

According to the CSA's website, Zhang Dan was born on October 4, 1987, which means she was below the required age when competing at the 2002 Winter Olympics when she and her partner came in 11th.

Zhang Hao's records show he was born on February 6, 1982, meaning he would have been too old to compete at the 2003 World Junior Championships, which they won.

The association is still probing other skaters involved in the allegations, including the reigning junior world champions Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, pairs skaters Yu Xiaoyu and Yang Jin, male pairs skater Gao Yu and women's singles skaters Geng Bingwa and Xu Binshu.

China completed a 2-3-4 in figure skating in the 2006 Turin Olympic Games when the Zhang's were followed by bronze medalists Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo and fourth-placed Pang Qing and Tong Jian.

Agencies contributed to this story