Regarding the gymnastic all around rule think of it like the NBA where you could have a good record but since you are playing the Western Conference still not make it into the playoffs while a team with a poorer record in the Eastern Conference does.
How is this a race thing? The East Germans were drug cheats and they were white, most cyclist drug cheats are white and they're often accused. In fact outside of the Chinese, white European countries would be accused and convicted of drugs in sport over any non white race. Can only laugh at idiots pulling out the race card when it has no place in the argument. If it was someone from a country with no to little history of drugs of course they wouldn't be called for it. As has been mentioned in this thread, previous history shows that when the Chinese improve rapidly, positive tests normally follow. We will see. For your information people were throwing the drug claims around recently when Brad Wiggins was winning the Tour De France without any basis whatsoever, he just happens to be male and white as they come and from a country that is hardly up there in the convicted drug cheats tables but sure that must be completely different.....
After losing the relay, I think Phelps said to Lochte: "good job, good effort". Is there video of the Chinese teenager winning the IM? NBC website has highlight videos of the semis, but nothing on the finals.
I didn't know that an airbag vest was invented to protect horseback riders when they fall off of their horses! That's pretty awesome.
Yeah but a team with the fourth best record in the NBA will still make the playoffs. And in that scenario at least the conferences and divisions are used to determine seeding and brackets. I don't think anyone would argue the Rockets, or anyone in that 9th spot, could have gone all the way these past few seasons anyways. You're talking about someone only 9 months removed from a world championship, a favorite for Gold, who had a qualifying score better than 20 other gymnasts who made the cut.
OK well then think about MLB. There have been years when the AL East has had the top three teams in AL with only two making it to the playoffs. I'm sure there have been people who have said that the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays should all be allowed to compete in the playoffs instead of the Angels but that is the way things work.
Welcome to America, where accusing China without any evidence is actually the politically correct thing to do. For everyone else, it's always innocent until proven guilty. For Americans, it's innocent EVEN proven guilty. Didn't certain US anti-doping official confess that more than 100 positive cases were covered by US? Didn't Carl Lewis said proudly, "who cares I failed drug tests"? Remember Jones? Remember Joyner? Remember Armstrong? And that fastest Britain Christie? Those were the loudest anti-doping "heroes" before they were caught. But if you are American, even if you are caught, you will be given the chance to tell your fancy stories of "boy friend drugged me" or "no intent". Remember, those were sports heroes who dominated their fields for a long long time, in the past decades. Guess what? None of them was clean, and some posters here actually have the nerve to talk about "systematic", while NBA, NFL, MLB still refusing doping test, and many ordinary kids in the gym taking some sort of substances. That no-name little girl from China, some ignorant people acted as if she came out of nowhere. Ye actually won her first national title when she was 13, and she won both in 2010 and 2011 in world championships. Of course, she's Chinese, so it's open for all kinds of games, no need for any evidence. If she beats Americans, something must be wrong. Thank God, Phelps was beaten by another American; otherwise, online doping experts will have another busy day. Long time posters would remember a hot discussion here in 2008. When someone online made up a story of Chinese started to ban all Black people in Beijing bars before the Olympic. The "story" traveled really rapidly, and of course it was in D&D as well. Those freedom fighters and famous/infamous hypocrites just had a come-out party, every one of them was in arms to sing kombaya, that they got to blame China again. None of those smart people has ever questioned how would something so wrong and so stupid happen, even to a Chinese government. BTW, how did that story develop? Once again, when it comes to China, anything negative must be true. As if that's the only way some can feel good about themselves. It's America, you are welcome to accuse China of anything and everything, and that's actually Politically Correct. Chinese won't go onto the street; they won't get the TV time to say they are offended; more importantly, they won't be organized to dramatically affect any voting. So, enjoy your time bashing them.
Then half the NBA must have had hepatitis simultaneously. Why wasn't the league declared a national disaster area? I'll tell you why: because nobody believes you. Nobody believes that Shaq was innocent. I am disgusted by the rampant cheating going on everywhere. Especially in the NFL, which is why I call it the National Farmacology League and no longer watch it. The NBA is rapidly reaching my tolerance limit too.
No one said the other countries are innocent, but China is doing it a bit too obviously. We're not saying China is the evil country and all others are good.
No doubt, her last 50M was suspicious, but what happened to innocent until proven guilty? I don't think it's fair for this 16 yr old to have her accomplishments dirtied, with nothing but speculation. How about we wait?
i agree with you.. although it's quite amazing that a 16 yo female can swim just as fast as a 27 yo male. But it's certainly possible and if there is no evidence of cheating it's definitely not fair that everyone just accuses her blindly. So Unless she fails a drug test it's really quite a remarkable achievement and congrats to her