Against the Olympic spirit

Not only Chinese double gold medal-winning swimmer Ye Shiwen, but also every sports fan who believes in the Olympic spirit that transcends nationality, race, color and politics deserves the apology rendered by Nature magazine on Monday.

That's because the doubts cast upon 16-year-old Ye's integrity by some Western media outlets, foreign coaches and the article on Nature's website is anything but reasonable.

Ye is not the only one to come up with incredible feats at the London Olympics. For example, 15-year-old US swimmer Katie Ledecky won the gold in women's 800 meter freestyle by beating defending Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington of Great Britain and 2008 bronze medalist Lotte Friis of Denmark. Another American teenager, Missy Franklin, 17, broke the world record in women's 200 meter backstroke.