Phelps believes in new swim star Ye

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Eighteen-time Olympic champion Michael Phelps has jumped to the defence of 16-year-old Ye Shiwen and insisted her mind-boggling performance was the result of hard work.

Phelps finished his career on Sunday at the age of 27 following a career that brought him 22 Olympic medals, 18 of which were gold, as well as 26 world titles.
The swimming programme in London threw up a number of surprises, not least Phelps finishing fourth in the 400 metres individual medley, but it was the performance of Ye in the women's equivalent that prompted a furore.
The Chinese teenager swam the final 50m quicker than the winner of the men's race Ryan Lochte, one of the greatest medley exponents in history.
Some questioned her performance but Phelps defended the young swimmer, instead hailing her work ethic.
He told the 'Connect the World' programme on CNN: "It's kind of sad that people have a great swim and that's the first thing they say.
"People who work hard - it shows, and there are people who jump to that conclusion sometimes and it's not right. Being able to watch her was pretty amazing.
"I'm happy I actually out-swum her in the last 100."
The Baltimore swimmer is adamant he will not return to the pool having achieved all he wanted despite some believing he will one day come back.
A number of young swimmers made breakthroughs on the world stage in London, among them Yannick Agnel, the 20-year-old who won the 200m freestyle and anchored the French to victory over the United States in the sprint relay, overhauling Lochte in the final metres.
Chad le Clos had clinched Commonwealth titles but London saw his global breakthrough as the South African shocked Phelps by taking advantage of his poor finish to snatch gold, the American's first defeat in that event in global competition in 12 years.
It was the event that saw Phelps equal Larisa Latynina's Olympic record although not quite in the way he had hoped.
However, the Bob Bowman-coached swimmer paid tribute to his opponent, saying: "Well, sure, I would have liked to win that race but...
"The hardest worker always wins, the hardest worker, the person who wants it the most wins, and he wanted it more than I did."