London 2012 Olympics: IOC tells critics of Chinese swimmer: ‘Get real’

Ye Shiwen has become the unlikely star of London 2012 when the 16-year-old set a new world record for the women’s 400m individual medley – even beating the time of men’s champion Ryan Lochte during her final length.

Last night, she also won the 200m IM gold, setting a new Olympic record.

But it was her performance in the previous race that caused questions to be asked.

The young prodigy’s victory prompted an unseemly row after United States coach John Leonard described her display as “disturbing”, saying it did not “add up”.

But the International Olympic Committee (IOC) urged the teenager’s critics to “get real”, while Lord Moynihan, chair of the British Olympic Association (BOC), pointed that Ye had been passed as clean by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Mr Leonard’s comments sparked a backlash from Chinese officials, who made clear they had never questioned the legitimacy of Michael Phelps, the US swimmer who has won more gold medals than anyone else in Olympic history.

Ye Shiwen’s swim was seized upon by Mr Leonard, the executive director of the World Swimming Coaches Association. He said: “She looks like Superwoman. Any time someone has looked like Superwoman in the history of our sport, they have later been found guilty of doping.”

However, Ye herself brushed aside allegations, stressing there was “absolutely no problem” despite China’s chequered past for doping controversies.

In June, Chinese state media said Li Zhesi, 16, part of the winning team at the 2009 World Championships, had tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug, EPO.

But Ye declared: “My results come from hard work and training and I would never use any banned drugs.

“The Chinese people have clean hands.”

Amid the fallout from Ye’s resounding triumph on Saturday evening, the IOC moved to dismiss speculation that she had been aided by banned substances.

Asked whether the doping test for Ye came in positive or negative, spokesman Mark Adams said: “We would only comment if we had any adverse finding. I am not commenting, so you can draw your own conclusions.”

He added: “I think we need to get real here. These are the world’s best athletes competing at the highest level. We have a very, very strong drugs testing programme. If there are cheats we will catch them.

“You cannot stop speculation. It is something that people talk about. It is a sad result of the fact that there are people who dope and cheat. But I equally think it’s very sad if we can’t applaud a great performance. Let’s always give the benefit of the doubt to athletes.”

Lord Moynihan also hit out at those who had raised suspicions about Ye, stating: “We know how on top of the game WADA [the World Anti-Doping Agency) are and WADA have passed her as clean. That’s the end of the story. It is regrettable there is so much speculation out there. I don’t like it. I think it is wrong.

“That athlete or, indeed, any athlete that has never tested positive is an athlete who should be supported by her federation and, indeed, everybody in the Olympic movement. Let us recognise that there is an extraordinary swimmer out there who deserves the recognition of her talent in these Games.”