[danielf]

Yes, I'm no swimming expert either. I've also just seen Ian Thorpe saying it is possible at that young an age. Sadly, following the cycling a bit has made me into a cynic. They will try all sorts to mask doping. Riders are taken out of competition not because of traces of banned substances, but because of deviations around values in their biological passport. Presumably, that's because the masking of banned substances is so successful. Then there's the can of worms of blood doping. It all becomes a matter of probabilities, which makes you wonder if a passed test means a clean athlete.

As you say, it's a sad state of affairs, but I'm afraid it's reality.