Brazilian sprint star Cesar Cielo defied a storm of criticism to win an emotional world championships gold yesterday, as a 15-year-old prodigy claimed a thrilling win for hosts China.
Cielo, who was controversially cleared to swim despite failing a drugs test, sobbed uncontrollably on the podium after his 50m butterfly victory and he was comforted by fellow medalists Matthew Targett and Geoff Huegill of Australia.
“I feel like I’ve been blessed by God ... It’s a page turned already. Now I’m just going to look to the future,” said Cielo, who finished in 23.10 seconds, just 0.18 seconds ahead of second-placed Targett. “This gold medal has a different feel from the other ones. This one was the hardest of my life.”
Photo: AFP
Cielo, 24, has been in the firing line, with superstar Michael Phelps and US teammate Jason Lezak both voicing unhappiness after the Brazilian last week escaped a drugs ban.
The Olympic 50m freestyle champion, who won both the 50m and 100m world titles in Rome in 2009, was let off with a warning for testing positive for a banned diuretic, which can be used to mask performance-enhancing drugs.
Cielo denies wrongdoing and blames a contaminated caffeine supplement for the result at Brazil’s national championships in May. Three teammates also tested positive for furosemide.
“It was a tough time. Time to test not only my talent in swimming, but how much I could take,” Cielo said.
In other action, Asian Games champion Ye Shiwen, 15, recorded host China’s first swimming gold in a pulsating 200m individual medley that was met with deafening roars at Shanghai’s Sea Crown Stadium.
Ye put in a lightning final lap to pip Australia’s Alicia Coutts, who won her second silver of the night, by 0.1 seconds in 2 minutes, 8.90 seconds, with defending champion Ariana Kukors of the US in third. Australia’s Olympic champion Stephanie Rice finished fourth.
Elsewhere, Olympic silver medalist Alexander Dale Oen of Norway won the men’s 100m breaststroke ahead of Italy’s Fabio Scozzoli, with South Africa’s Cameron van der Burgh third.
Japan’s four-time Olympic breaststroke champion Kosuke Kitajima was just outside the medals in fourth.
Earlier, Dana Vollmer of the US, 23, won her first individual title at a world championships in the 100m butterfly ahead of Coutts and China’s Lu Ying.
World record holder Sarah Sjoe-stroem, the defending champion, finished fourth, while Australia’s Jessicah Schipper was seventh.
Vollmer’s victory was attained by virtue of an unusual training regime in the ocean off Australia’s Tasmania and it follows a career beset by injury, as well as a serious heart problem that required surgery in 2003.
“I’m so excited, I’ve never won a world championship. My fly’s been feeling absolutely amazing. I feel all the different things I’ve been doing with training ... are really paying off for me,” Vollmer said.
Earlier, 14-time Olympic champion Phelps qualified for today’s 200m freestyle final alongside teammate Ryan Phelps.
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