A damaging drugs scandal overhangs the world swimming championships in Shanghai, where a misfiring Michael Phelps will try to reignite his Olympic form as the countdown begins to London 2012.
Phelps is expected to compete in up to seven events at the purpose-built Oriental Sports Centre on the city’s outskirts, a state-of-the-art facility which will host 16 days of swimming, diving and water polo from Saturday.
But an unsavoury doping episode has dragged the media spotlight away from the US phenomenon and on to beleaguered Brazilian star Cesar Cielo, whose fate hangs in the balance after testing positive for a banned diuretic.
