Record swimmer faces de Bruin comparison

John Leonard, the executive director of the World Swimming Coaches Association, last night compared Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen’s winning performance in the women’s 400m individual medley to Irish swimmer Michelle Smith.

Smith, now de Bruin, won gold in the same event at the 1996 Olympics but was later banned from swimming for four years in 1998 for tampering with a urine sample. She has always denied using performance-enhancing drugs.

Ye stunned observers over the weekend when she set the first swimming world record of these Olympics, and in doing so swam the final 50m freestyle faster than US swimmer Ryan Lochte managed in his final leg, when he won the same race in the men’s event.