Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen has continued her startling rise to glory by taking a second gold at London 2012.

Despite her Olympics campaign being dogged by accusations of doping, the 16-year-old put in a startling performance in the 200m individual medley, securing her place as one of the heroes of the Games so far.

Like any superstar, Ye is attracting quite a following amongst swimmers in her home nation. At a pool in Beijing, Wang Jiaying, seven, told reporters: "I want to be like big brother Sun Yang and big sister Ye Shiwen and go to the Olympics. I am very jealous of them."

Others, meanwhile, are furious that the success of their new champion has been marred by controversy. Chen Ling said: "We feel very angry that a small number of people in the west would say this about young Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen.

"They are being so irresponsible. Our young girl relied on her perseverance and talent to gain glory for the country and win the race.

"We are very angry over what certain people in the west said."

Either way, the goals and aspirations of one young girl thousands of miles from home is set to inspire a generation.