China's doping record means Ye Shiwen will always be viewed with suspicion

Ye Shiwen updated her Weibo (Chinese Twitter) page after she won the Gold medal in the 400 metre individual medley at the weekend.

She thanked her team and her fans for their support. None of her comments denying she took drugs to produce such a staggering performance are on her own page.

Over a million people have commented on Chinese social media sites now, mostly insulted by the insinuations made about Ye Shiwen.

However China has a deep rooted-problem that has led to doubts being expressed about the 16 year-old's ability in the pool. Back in the 90s, 40 Chinese swimmers were banned for doping offences.

That's a bad reputation to recover from, and Ye Shiwen is under suspicion because that was systematic doping of athletes. Even former medical officers from national teams admit it.

It's important to note in her defence that Ye Shiwen has proved time and time again that she has remarkable speed over the final 50 metres of a race and yet has never failed a drugs test.

At the world championships in Shanghai, not far from her home town, she won, and afterwards an American athlete commented on her speed in the final 50. So London is not the first place where her speed has come under scrutiny.

So is she a natural golden girl? It certainly looks that way.

Will she always be viewed with suspicion? Yes, because of China's previous record away from the pool, in the labs and dark world of drugs cheats.