Chinese Olympic Doctor Wonders If Michael Phelps Was Doping Too

Everyone had something to say about Ye Shiwen, the 16-year-old Chinese girl who blew away a world record and even outpaced Ryan Lochte's time over her final 50 meters. Most people kept the "d" word to themselves, calling Ye's swim "unbelievable" or "beyond belief" or "I don't believe she could swim that fast without drinking a growler of horse steroids." But it took USA Swimming bigwig John Leonard vocalize what everyone was tiptoeing around:

"Any time someone has looked like Superwoman in the history of our sport they have later been found guilty of doping," Leonard said.

Fair? Maybe not. Ye passed her drug test. By any standard of evidence, accusations against Ye are unfounded. And two can play at flinging unfounded accusations!

China's former Olympic doctor Chen Zhanghao (who, it should be noted, was a central figure in China's doping scandals of the '80s and '90s) came right back at America's own record-smashing hero:

"Abnormal? America's Phelps broke seven world records! Is he normal? I suspect Phelps, but without evidence, I have to recognise that we should be grounded in facts."

"The Americans have made many extraordinary performances but without evidence we have kept silent."

We can laugh this off, because Phelps didn't medal when he was 15 years old and the American swim program doesn't have the history of doping that the Chinese do. But Chen's got a point. What the hell do we know? Blood samples are kept for eight years, and will be tested for things we don't even know exist yet. Guilty until proven innocent is the new Olympic way, and doping allegations are as petty and counterproductive as they are inevitable.

Chinese doctor blasts Phelps in drugs tit-for-tat [Sydney Morning Herald]

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