Chinese sports fans on Thursday hailed their country's first swimming gold of the Paris Olympics and hit back at doping allegations after Pan Zhanle roared to a record-breaking victory in the men's 100-meter freestyle.
Pan, 19, burnished his already-glittering reputation in his home country with a world-record time of 46.40 seconds, beating the previous fastest time of 46.80 he had set in February in Doha.
The win came against the backdrop of a doping controversy that has engulfed the China swimming team and led U.S. authorities to accuse the world's governing body of a cover-up.
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