17-year-old Missy Franklin just smashed the world record by 0.75 second and beat the run-up by almost 2 seconds in a 200m race. Does that count? Where do you draw the line of "suspicious" ? Better the WR by 0.2 sec, 0.5 sec, 1 sec? Oh, I know, whatever is convenient for you.
It definitely depends on the distance and the athlete, and on the country's history of cheating, which China's is unparalleled in swimming. If we are discussing baseball or cycling....Americans are definitely the gold medalists in cheating. But in swimming cheating, China takes the gold.
IOC is freaking joke. So they punished the badminton players but they let this one go? British cycling gold medallist admits to crashing on purpose
Lance armstrong is a cheater, that's why the US is the world leader in cycling cheating. Not defending him.
I think that's more similar to sprinters false starting on purpose, to which that loophole was closed. Maybe they should do the same for cycling then. Or similar to flopping to draw a foul or free kick. Not very sportsmanlike, but I don't think on the same level as throwing an entire match so that your team gets a better draw, and your countrymen get a better chance at medaling as well.
I would argue it is more difficult to beat the records by big margins in short races than in longer races. So I think Franklin's 0.75 sec off WR in 200m is more impressive than Ye's 1+ sec in 400 m. Yes, China has a history of doping in swimming, but history can not be used to convict people guilty. You need evidence, my friend. As of now, you need to base your accusations on IOC drug test results, no matter how much you distrust those tests, otherwise all athletes will look suspicious. After all, they are supposed to do amazing things.
well Ye Shiwen and all the other swimmers that have won medals have passed their drugs tests... so unless someone fails a drug test I'm going to recognize everyone's medals as an awesome achievement. On a side note. .so much for the stereotype that black people cant swim .. Congrats to Jones on another medal..
YOu're right...Franklin is definitelly suspicious...fortunately for her, the US has a long history of success in swimming and a comparative dearth of major cheating scandals, so she will probably not be as scrutinzed. She is not above suspicion from this quarter. Anybody who swims the backstroke is frankly a little loopy.
Watching dressage for 10 minutes made me wonder why this is an Olympic sport (besides relying on tradition) and not baseball or softball.
This. Moreover, speaking of history. Track and field starts in short, we can certainly all live long enough to see Americans being "questioned by default because of their history". Internet is a wonderful thing, I guess I won't miss former American athletes and coaches and certain righteous posters coming out to "question" "unbelievable" results by American athletes, based on their history. You know, that covered up 100+ positive drug tests, must be ranked top of the world and qualified as "organized".
I would give all the athletes the benefit of the doubt and enjoy the game until hard evidence comes out against them.
They should be questioned; anybody in sprints or the field strength events like shotput discus etc from any country should be questioned IMO. The US Shotputting team is LEGENDARILY corrupt.
I don't think anyone should be scrutinized until the tests have been done. Claiming that anyone is a cheat without the facts is plain dumb. Regardless of history.
Please don't act as if you are totally detached from the real world. Seriously, were Americans questioned at all? BBC, CNN, Yahoo!, and even frigging Nature started the mud sling to join the party of accusing Ye, right after IOC re-confirmed test results and past test results. Did they question ANY American, at all? If you can't see discrepancy and hypocrisy in this whole circus, I can't help you.
She is 6-1 with a 6-4 wingspan with size 13 feet. It is just easier to believe how she is dominating. She has a physical advantage. She could be juicing too. We probably won't find out for another 5 years.
