| Chinese swimmer, Olympic gold medalist. Date of Birth: Country: China |
Ye Shiwen was born in Hangzhou, China, to former athletes Ye Qingsong and Ning Yiqing. Noticing her unusually large hands and feet, a kindergarten teacher recommended that she take up swimming at the age of six. Shiwen joined the Hangzhou Municipal Sports School and quickly rose through the ranks. In , she won the meter freestyle event at the Zhejiang Provincial Games.
In , Shiwen joined the Chinese national team and trained at China's National Junior Training Camp for two months. She subsequently trained in Brisbane, Australia, under coaches Ken Wood and Denis Cotterell. Her work ethic and intelligence impressed her mentors.
At the Asian Games, Shiwen set records in the meter and meter individual medleys. She continued to excel at the World Aquatics Championships, where she won gold in the meter individual medley.
Shiwen emerged as a star at the London Olympics. She won gold in both the meter and meter individual medleys, setting a new world record in the latter event. However, her record-breaking time of raised suspicions of doping. Shiwen passed all drug tests, but the controversy surrounding her performance lingered.
In the final 50 meters of the meter individual medley, Shiwen clocked a remarkable time of seconds, outpacing the winning time in the men's event. However, it should be noted that comparisons between the two swims are not entirely accurate due to race circumstances and swimmer differences.
In subsequent years, Shiwen continued to compete at a high level, but she never quite matched her Olympic success. Nevertheless, she remains a symbol of Chinese sporting prowess and has inspired countless young swimmers.