In the west, Ye Shiwen has become a target of cynicism and suspicion. Two powerful wins in the pool have made her the new face of a Chinese swimming regime accused of doping and duping.
But in China, the 16-year-old with broad hands and freestyle afterburners that have stunned observers in London is being hailed as a miracle by her millions of new fans and aspiring swimmers alike.
On the first night at the Olympic pool, her world-record breaking time in the 400m individual medley had jaws dropping to the floor. American Elizabeth Beisel was the pre-race favourite and Olympic champion Stephanie Rice couldn’t be discounted. Instead, Ye shaved five seconds off her best time to detonate her rivals in breathtaking fashion, beating a split time by American male star Ryan Lochte in the process.* Doping accusations followed almost immediately.
Last night, Ye made it gold number two, beating Australia’s Alicia Coutts into silver in the 200m version of the event. The same dominance wasn’t evident but even an Olympic record for Coutts wasn’t enough to secure Australia’s second gold. Ye set a new Olympic record herself (2.07.57) to cement her reputation as the bright new star of women’s swimming. And she will only get faster.
China’s media censorship has prompted some commentators to suggest that the furore now surrounding Ye is unfolding in a news vacuum in her home country. China blocks social media sites like Twitter but have their own state-approved version in web portals like Sina Weibo.
The Chinese were quick to use Weibo to condemn allegations against their new prodigy and ask for an apology by media outlets, like the BBC in Great Britain, that questioned her credibility within moments of the breathtaking swim, in which she hauled in Beisel as if she was stuck in neutral.
‘‘Ask foreign media to apologize! Good luck Ye Shiwen, show them what you can do in the 200m!,’’ wrote mena1988, while xiaomogu declared the entire Games a write-off: ‘‘Nothing to say, too ridiculous, the London Olympics is such a failure.’’
Another post from fengmi1994 said Chinese athletes weren’t doping and described her wonder swim in the 400m IM as a "miracle".
‘‘I remember this girl said, ‘‘Please tell those journalists, Chinese athletes do not dope’’ F#k!! They still subject her to testing. So what if she’s only 16? It’s called the power of youth. It was a miracle. Strongly request foreign media to apologize to Ye.’’
Ye, Chinese coaches and the Australian coaches she works with have strongly denied any doping was involved. And the American swimming team has distanced themselves from inflammatory comments made by countryman John Leonard, the executive director of the World Swimming Coaches Association, that put an asterix squarely behind all of Ye’s performances.
Australia’s Coutts came out strong in support of Ye after her silver in the 200m IM, saying the teenager had never recorded a positive result despite stringent testing and shouldn’t be cast as a drug cheat because of China’s record.
‘‘I like to believe innocent until proven guilty. As far as I’m concerned I think she is an amazing swimmer and it’s just amazing that I got to be as close as I was with how amazing she is,’’ Coutts said.
Culture clash: a target in the west, Ye celebrated as a
