Defending Olympic Champ Ye Shiwen Misses Rio Final in 400 IM

2016 RIO OLYMPIC GAMES

Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen, who was the 2012 Olympic gold medalist in the 400 IM thanks to a stunning World Record swim, has missed the final in the same event on the first day of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

Ye was only 7th in the 400 IM at the Chinese Olympic Trials in the event, but at the time blamed a sudden illness and did perform better later in the meet. But even at 20 years old, when she swam in Rio, she wasn’t even close. Her finishing time in the heats of 4:45.86 was over 17 seconds slower than she was in the London Olympic final and finished only in 27th place. Meanwhile, Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu came within tenths of breaking her World Record as the top qualifier.

Ye has battled health issues since winning that gold in London, though she did still win the event at the 2014 Asian Games. She was selected for China’s Olympic Team, even without placing well at their Trials, because they didn’t view any other Chinese swimmers as viable alternatives.

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Brian Amen
6 years ago

Brief history of Chinese swimming: pre 1990 Chinese swimming was non existant. Hire former GDR coach-Chinese swimmers come out of nowhere in 90s to smash world records and win relays-a sign of depth and dominance. It’s only on the women’s side oddly where the Chinese had such tremendous break out success. 90s saw such a significant number of Chinese swimmers doping it would be foolish to think it was anything other than institutionalized. Chinese officials were caught altering gymnasts birth certificates to make them eligible at the Beijing games. Currently there is a plague of falsified admission transcripts and test scores at American universities by Chinese foreign nationals with figures at 90% with falsified admission documents. Transcendence is one such… Read more »

Henry
7 years ago

non-white athlete wins: Proof that he/she is cheating.
non-white athlete loses: proof that he/she is cheating.
lol #whitepeoplelogic.

NEWTOSWIMSWAM
7 years ago

Folks, please, can we please bring Ye’s case to an end? I can’t believe there are so many commenters (in different articles) who also accused Hosszu of cheating/doping! Part of good sportsmanship is NOT to be a sour loser AND gracious winner. Let’s stay with facts, no judgements:

Fact: Both Hosszu and Ye had incredible swims in 4IM in world’s highest stage. Congrats to both.

Fact: Neither tested positive for doping or cheating. Every country has cheaters, historically or currently. Unless they are tested positive, they are champions in my eyes.

Fact: Ye was a teenager in 2012 and a young woman in 2016. After London she didn’t grow much taller at all, but much bigger elsewhere. Just google her… Read more »

Kelvin
Reply to  NEWTOSWIMSWAM
7 years ago

Thank you for commenting with facts instead of witch hunting like the others

Mail Tranzit
7 years ago

I just wonder how can she keep her Londo 2012 medal.

lethealbion
7 years ago

look what happens when she no longer has the dope lol

Coach Usa
7 years ago

China has been cheating since the Olympics have been televised; probably before. Just like the Russians. Disgraceful and embarrassing, at least it should be to them, but it’s not. The world is envious of the USA. We are number one and we will always be number one because we will fight until victory. I’ve seen so many Chinese swimmers slump in defeat and so many proud Russians cry when it counts. See ya!

Cheaters USA
Reply to  Coach Usa
7 years ago

Americans are the biggest cheaters and dopers in the world. Lance Armstrong, Roger Clemens, A Rod, Marion Jones, Maria Sharapova(Russian or American), the list goes on.

Brian Amen
Reply to  Cheaters USA
6 years ago

Swimming is an entirely different animal-and US swimming prides itself on a clean program- as an outsider you can try to paint all sports with a broad brush but it’s clear you don’t understand swimming culture in the US. When GDR and the soviets cheated the US women’s swimmers suffered losses. Later it came out that GDR was using institutionalize doping. If the US swimmers are doping-why do they always come up short against suspected and confirmed dopers? 32 Chinese swimmers were caught doping in the 90s only. I can name only 2 us swimmers who are suspected of doping-Amy van dyken-likely, and Angel Myers-confirmed. You will always have errant cheats. The difference being china promotes doping where US swimming… Read more »

Henry
Reply to  Coach Usa
7 years ago

lol a worthless fat virgin like you talking. Go back to being picked last in everything in real life.

Crawler
7 years ago

So she was 16 when they doped her into a gold medal. She became a laughingstock for swimming her last 50 faster than Lochte. Four years later, she swims miserably. And for the rest of her life she will be remembered, if at all, as a cheat. What a waste!

Stingray
Reply to  Crawler
7 years ago

Honestly stop blaming all performances, no matter how fast, by Chinese athletes, as doping. As long as no drug tests come back from London revealing that she doped, please kindly show some respect for fast performances….

StopFINA
Reply to  Stingray
7 years ago

She was strongly suspected of doping before London and then later caught sooooo…

Joel Lin
Reply to  StopFINA
7 years ago

Thank you for that. What a joke she wasn’t caught before or at London. Hopefully the Iron Lady wipes this WR off the books tonite.

Maverick
Reply to  StopFINA
7 years ago

You are ignorant. What is the definition of a “suspected” doper??? Someone who swims fast out of nowhere?

Henry
Reply to  Maverick
7 years ago

A non-white athlete that wins.

Kelvin
Reply to  StopFINA
7 years ago

@Stopfina, where exactly did you see that she was caught doping?

Brian Amen
Reply to  Kelvin
6 years ago

Happens to be that the current dopers aren’t white. But we all railed against the East Germans and Soviets (as white as it white gets) in the 80s during their doping eras. Watering it down to race means you lack a cogent argument and are ignorant of Chinese history of doping.

Brian Amen
Reply to  Stingray
6 years ago

How many East Germans were caught for rampant doping in 70s and 80s. The dopers are always a step ahead of the tests.

Henry
Reply to  Crawler
7 years ago

lol she’ll have a gold medal and you have is well, nothing, actually. Other than being really fat.

double standard
Reply to  Crawler
7 years ago

Tell me how Katie Ledecky won a gold at 15 years age and not being suspected to dope. I just don’t get the reason why.

Brian Amen
Reply to  double standard
6 years ago

Us swimming has a history of clean swimming-its enforced top down and bottom up-zero tolerance for doping. Chinese had no swimmers of international caliber pre 1990s and exploded on the scene after retaining the former East German coach-shortly thereafter there were dozens of Chinese women swimmers who failed drug tests-of such quantity that it could be nothing other than institutionalize doping.

Cindy
7 years ago

Yes! Good riddance!

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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