Ye Shiwen is a phenomenal swimmer, not a cheat

If Ian Thorpe, Lord Coe, and Lord Moynihan aren’t bothered about China’s phenomenal swimmer, Ye Shiwen, neither am I. I was in Hong Kong when the Chinese swimmers Adam’s-apples bobbing and heavily muscled, won most of the golds from which they were soon parted for having eaten cart-loads of steroids. The same fate befell China’s long-distance runners whose coach tried to explain their astounding success because of the odd things they ate.

What attracted the attention of a few high Olympic officials was 16-year-old Ye’s first record-breaking swim, in which she cut five seconds off her previous best and swam faster than the fastest American man. The Australian Ian Thorpe, known in Australia as the Thorpedo and whose swimming commentary is the best, said that between ages 15 and 16 he too knocked five seconds off his previous best, and noted as well that no-one was questioning the Lithuanian swimmer, aged 15, who just came from nowhere to win gold.