Suspicious minds are hovering ominously over swimming events at Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games
After endless doping-scandals have rocked the pool, competitors and officials are no longer keeping their innuendos underwater
It has to be one of the most spontaneously joyous moments in Olympic history. When 17-year-old Mexican swimmer Felipe Munoz won gold in the 200m breaststroke at the 1968 Games in Mexico City, it was a stunning win on so many levels.
Ten days into the Games, the host country had yet to win a gold and few gave the teenage Munoz much of chance. A true homeboy, he grew up only a few blocks away from the swimming complex, the fact that he was even in an Olympic final was remarkable in itself.
However, when he closed from fourth to first over the last 50 meters the euphoria was impossible to contain and even the medal ceremony had to be delayed when the crowd mobbed Munoz and put him on their shoulders for a prolonged victory lap.
At that moment, the true greatness of the Olympics was framed for all to see.
It’s impossible not to yearn for moments like these. If it happened in 2016 there would be an immediate air of suspicion over an unknown winner. The sad reality is we now live in an era of disbelief and nowhere has that been more prevalent than in the Olympic pool during the first week of the Rio Games.