Ye Shiwen has history against her
Roar Guru The 16 year old Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwn completed the 400m IM in world record time on her way to the gold medal. In doing so, she all but matched men’s 400 IM winner Ryan Lochte’s time of 58 seconds over the last 100m, and actually surpassed his time over the last 50m.
This may just be the rise of a great athlete, but then again, there are many points towards foul play.
Ye was the team-mate of Li Zhesi, the infamous drug cheat who in June tested positive to the renown EPO erythropoietin.
Ye Shiwen is unfortunately bound by precedent. Over the last 15 years, a number of Chinese swimmers have tested positive to Dihydrotestosterone, anabolic steroids, erythropoietin and human growth hormones.
In the 92′ games at Barcelona they left with four gold and at the 94′ World Champs they eclipsed the field to win 12 of the 16 gold medals on offer in the women’s division.
Scepticism was on the rise. Prior to the 90s, China was not recognised as a power-house swimming nation.
At the 94′ Asian Games, eleven athletes tested positive to dihydrotestosterone. This triggered the demise of Chinese swimming, until 1998.
The Chinese representatives at the 98′ World Champs looked promising, until four swimmers tested positive before the event.
Since 1990, over 40 Chinese swimmers have tested positive to a banned substance.
Ye Shiwen? Make up your own mind.
- Explore:
- 2012 London Olympics
July 31st 2012 @ 12:49pm
Seano said | July 31st 2012 @ 12:49pm | Report comment
In Australia we always say “per head is capita” we win te most medals or we do this or that, per head of capita I bet china has less convicted drug cheats than we do.
–
Comment left via The Roar’s iPhone app. Download The Roar’s iPhone App in the App Store here.
August 2nd 2012 @ 10:42pm
Dom said | August 2nd 2012 @ 10:42pm | Report comment
They go through their own program. It’s not as if they’re individuals that are doping – this is systemic.
July 31st 2012 @ 1:28pm
Roger the Alien said | July 31st 2012 @ 1:28pm | Report comment
Dont’ blame the Chinese entirely. The Western nations encouraged them to dope.
July 31st 2012 @ 2:31pm
jameswm said | July 31st 2012 @ 2:31pm | Report comment
They did? How so?
July 31st 2012 @ 3:06pm
Ross said | July 31st 2012 @ 3:06pm | Report comment
She’s definitely on some performance enhancing substance.
Looks like the coaches made a mistake and gave her a double dose. Oops. I mean winning is one thing, swimming faster than Lochte is going overboard! It must be hard getting the dosages right. Next she’ll beat Usain Bolt on the track.
July 31st 2012 @ 11:16pm
sam said | July 31st 2012 @ 11:16pm | Report comment
‘swimming faster than Lochte is going overboard’
i think they seriously sensationalised this. within the men’s 400m medley there were 4 swimmers who swam faster compared to lochte in the final lap, including Y Horiyata of Japan who came sixth overall, and he clocked 27.87 secs.
July 31st 2012 @ 11:32pm
Stoffy18 said | July 31st 2012 @ 11:32pm | Report comment
^ all men
August 1st 2012 @ 1:27pm
Marcus said | August 1st 2012 @ 1:27pm | Report comment
So what? Somebody is faster than Lochte, why Ye can not? just because she’s a woman?
If you question Ye just because china swimming team has a history of dopings, then you should question more on Euro and American as they have a long long long long history of using drugs.
August 1st 2012 @ 4:12pm
robbie said | August 1st 2012 @ 4:12pm | Report comment
Yes it is because she is a girl, she’s not even matrued yet. Who even knows if she really is a girl?
August 1st 2012 @ 4:40pm
Matt F said | August 1st 2012 @ 4:40pm | Report comment
You are aware that she was actually 23 seconds slower then Lochte in the race right? And that 42 out of the 45 men who swam in the heats for the event would have beaten Ye’s time?
August 3rd 2012 @ 7:47pm
sam said | August 3rd 2012 @ 7:47pm | Report comment
Rebecca Adlington swam a last 50 split of 28.91 when she won gold in the 800m free in the 2011 World Championships. it is not unheard of.
July 31st 2012 @ 4:27pm
Let the One King Rule said | July 31st 2012 @ 4:27pm | Report comment
I think it’s got to be a case of innocent until proven guilty. The girl is barely 16, and it’s somewhat boorish of us to be accusing her of doping on the basis of where she comes from, and the people she knows. She’ll be tested as rigorously as the committee are capable of – let’s withhold judgement until we see a result.
July 31st 2012 @ 6:56pm
Stoffy18 said | July 31st 2012 @ 6:56pm | Report comment
Let the One King Rule,
Unfortunately “innocence” seems to lull one into a false sense of security security.. A masking agent all be it..
I’d like to think that a young 16 year old would stear clear of drugs, but would that make me naive?
Her teammate Li Zhesi was I think 16 or 17 at the time she tested positive… Age really plays no role nowadays.
July 31st 2012 @ 7:33pm
Les the mess said | July 31st 2012 @ 7:33pm | Report comment
Get over it Stoffy. The evidence is OVERWHELMINGLY against the likelihood of doping. The best piece of “evidence” you can come up with is “aww, ref, she knew someone who knew someone who took drugs”. No, you’re not naive, more delusional.
July 31st 2012 @ 8:21pm
Stoffy18 said | July 31st 2012 @ 8:21pm | Report comment
Not once have I claimed her to be guilty.. I just don’t believe it is such a far fetched idea?
Ease up on the “delusional” comments champ.. Just because the evidence may point to the contrary doesn’t mean you neglect the other side of the story..
Why not instead read the content correctly next time…
July 31st 2012 @ 4:41pm
katzilla said | July 31st 2012 @ 4:41pm | Report comment
I think her ruse fell apart when she rocked up to the interview afterwards with a fully grown handle bar mo.
July 31st 2012 @ 4:51pm
Fussball ist unser leben said | July 31st 2012 @ 4:51pm | Report comment
So, let’s see if I understand how some Aussies analyse results..
1. If an Aussie swims very fast & breaks world records – we all shout & jump, breakfast shows spend hours talking about our “New Golden Hero” & the Women’s magazines will offer huge money for exclusive interviews.
2. If a foreigner – particularly one, who looks different from a WASP – swims very fast and breaks records .. it’s because they used performance-enhancing drugs
Oh dear.
Here’s something for Strayians to ponder … in 2008, at the Australian swimming trials to pick swimmers to represent Australia at the Beijing Olympics, a lass named Stephanie Rice “shaved a startling six seconds off her personal best time”.
I don’t recall a single Aussie suggesting Rice’s sudden improved performance was due to banned substances. We just thought Stephanie worked hard & has natural talent.
However, when Ye Shiwen reduced her best time by five seconds, it has to be due to banned substances. It cannot be due to hard work & natural talent.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/olympics/swimming-london-2012/dont-be-too-quick-to-question-chinese-success-20120731-23b6j.html#ixzz22BFgV0WU
July 31st 2012 @ 6:51pm
Stoffy18 said | July 31st 2012 @ 6:51pm | Report comment
Fussball..
Pit Australia’s track record for drugs in swimming against China.. You’ll then understand why we question this.
If she tests negative, It truely is a win for sport and a testament to hard work.. but surely it pays to push the boundaries of scepticism rather then the oppositie?
July 31st 2012 @ 7:44pm
Les the mess said | July 31st 2012 @ 7:44pm | Report comment
Stoffy, she has tested negative in all the competitions she has ever competed in. What do you mean by “IF she tests negative”?
July 31st 2012 @ 8:11pm
Stoffy18 said | July 31st 2012 @ 8:11pm | Report comment
I’m just laying down the history of China in the pool… The likelyhood is that she will test negative, but I’m merely pointing out the reasons for doubt?
July 31st 2012 @ 8:29pm
Titus said | July 31st 2012 @ 8:29pm | Report comment
She has also most likely tortured and eaten a puppy and supports the oppression of the people of Tibet…….given the Chinese track record that is.
July 31st 2012 @ 8:32pm
Fussball ist unser leben said | July 31st 2012 @ 8:32pm | Report comment
The American Track team & the Cycling team (1984 LA Olympics) have a shocking record using banned substances.
Will you write the same article when the US wins breaks a record/wins gold on the Track or at the Velodrome?
Melbourne Storm was found to have an entrenched culture of systematic abuse of the NRL Salary Cap. When Storm were winning games early this year, did you speculate “Storm has history against them”?
Of course, with Aussies it’s always “my mum’s tablets” (Shane Warne) or “I thought they were for a headache” (Samantha Riley), or “they were in my coach’s safe, but I never used” (Michael Klim).
Didn’t Dean Lukin’s body shape have a massive change when he won Gold in LA 1984? No one said a word.
July 31st 2012 @ 9:01pm
Stoffy18 said | July 31st 2012 @ 9:01pm | Report comment
Oh please,
You’re hardly subtle about your feelings towards Australia, so don’t use that as the basis for your argument here..
Again, stop taking my words out of context… I haven’t said she is a drug cheat.. I am stating the facts, and even said “you make up your own mind”
July 31st 2012 @ 9:09pm
Les the mess said | July 31st 2012 @ 9:09pm | Report comment
Strange that Fussball is using the exact same line of logic and circumstantial evidence (“just stating the facts”) and yet is dismissed by Stoffy. I think you’ve just proven Fussball’s point, Stoffy.
July 31st 2012 @ 8:48pm
Les the mess said | July 31st 2012 @ 8:48pm | Report comment
Yes, yes, merely pointing out the reasons for doubt, reasons that seem less and less credible as commentators in this forum begin to poke massive holes in them. Apologies, Stoffy, for the previous derogatory comment.
July 31st 2012 @ 9:16pm
Stoffy18 said | July 31st 2012 @ 9:16pm | Report comment
“So, let’s see if I understand how some Aussies analyse results”
This is by no means simply an Australian way of analysing… In fact other nations have been much quicker to point to finger..
Fussball is just incorporating that with his argument for a cheap shot…
July 31st 2012 @ 11:45pm
Bretto said | July 31st 2012 @ 11:45pm | Report comment
It’s not so much the fact these swimmers take time off their PB’s, hell that’s completely normal at their age. The Ye case is quite a bit different to Rice’s. All records set at the Beijing games were technologically assisted via the swim suits. Since they were banned, Rice, Phelps etc lost a few seconds off their times. Since the games hardly any records have been broken. Then this 16 year old comes out and smashes a technologically assisted WR by a second?
Also, not only did Ye swim faster than Lochte in the final leg of the 400IM, she swam faster than any woman in the final 100m of the 400m freestyle. So she’s faster across the final 100m then specialist freestyler’s? Food for thought none the less.
July 31st 2012 @ 5:00pm
Les the mess said | July 31st 2012 @ 5:00pm | Report comment
I’ll tell ya who WON’T be suspected of taking performance enhancing drugs…. The Australian Swim Team 2012
August 1st 2012 @ 12:53pm
hawker said | August 1st 2012 @ 12:53pm | Report comment
yes we need to change dealers.
July 31st 2012 @ 7:49pm
Steve said | July 31st 2012 @ 7:49pm | Report comment
I’m not sure it’s an Aussie racism thing: if Cadel Evans had smashed Lance Armstrong’s times in the TDF this year, people would question that as well. I say innocent until proven guilty, but given that China does have a proven background in doping and cheating in sports, especially Swimming, it’s hardly unreasonable for questions to at least be tentatively raised.
July 31st 2012 @ 8:16pm
Steve said | July 31st 2012 @ 8:16pm | Report comment
It’s not blanket suspicion of Chinese swimmers either:no one is questioning Sun Yang’s performance, but there are anomalous aspects to Ye Shiwen’s performance. According to ‘The Guardian’, Ye Shiwen was a full seven seconds faster than she had been at the World Championships in July, also, and more worryingly, her final time was highly egregious compared to her other three split times. That does sound more reminiscent of Michelle Smith than Stephanie Rice.
July 31st 2012 @ 9:11pm
Stoffy18 said | July 31st 2012 @ 9:11pm | Report comment
Speaking of poking holes..
“she has tested negative in all the competitions she has ever competed in”
So it is inapprehensible that someone who has never tested positive MAYBE performance enhanced?
At one stage in Ben Johnsons career he had never tested positive… Does that mean that anyone who called foul play was wrong to do so?
July 31st 2012 @ 9:16pm
Les the mess said | July 31st 2012 @ 9:16pm | Report comment
Usually, you call foul play AFTER the fact, not before… which is what you’re doing right now. So yes, I think its wrong to call foul play BEFORE fouling.