Hong Kong ( CNN ) -- When Chinese teenager Ye Shiwen dives into the pool on Monday , all eyes will be firmly on the clock to see if she can repeat her world-beating -- Ryan Lochte-beating -- time in the last 50 meters . The 16-year-old is due to swim the heat of the 200 meter individual medley after taking gold in the 400 meter event on Saturday . It was n't just the win that captured the world 's attention , although she did clinch gold after beating American champion Elizabeth Beisel and smashing the world record in 4 minutes 28.43 seconds . The clock also showed that in the last 50 meters Ye swam faster than U.S. swimmer Lochte who won gold in the men 's 400-meter individual medley the same night . Lochte vs. Phelps : Swimmer showdown heats up the Web . Ye , who was n't among the race 's favorites , clocked in 28.93 seconds in her final 50 meters of the competition 's last 100 meter , freestyle leg , while Lochte went 29.10 seconds in his final 50 . Sports pundits also pointed out the Chinese athlete broke the record previously set by Stephanie Rice in the 2008 Beijing Olympics ; the Australian swimmer did it with the aid of a polyurethane suit , which is now banned . In Monday 's 200 meter individual medley heats Shiwen finished 1.61 seconds clear of Kirsty Coventry in second , and 3.33 seconds ahead of 2008 Beijing Olympic champion Rice . Lochte , 27 , who holds various world swimming records , said on Sunday : `` It was pretty impressive . And it was a female . She 's fast . If she was there with me , I do n't know , she might have beat me . '' Not surprisingly , Chinese compatriots , from athletes to ordinary citizens , heaped praise on the swimming sensation . The hurdler champion Liu Xiang said , `` Ye Shiwen , she shocked me ! '' while one netizen said : `` Ye is only 16 ! Sixteen is the age at which I am doing my homework at home while she wins the gold medal . '' Even the swimmer herself was surprised . `` I dreamed of winning the gold medal , but I never ever expected to break the record . So I am overwhelmed , '' Ye said in quotes carried Monday in the state-run China Daily . Ye 's swift time apparently caught commentators in the UK by surprise . BBC Olympic presenter Clare Balding provoked criticism by making remarks some interpreted as a suggestion that Ye had been cheating . Turning to her co-presenter former British Olympian Mark Foster , Balding asked : `` How many questions will be there , Mark , about someone who can suddenly swim much faster than she has ever swum before ? '' Lochte wins maiden U.S. gold as Phelps flounders . Users on China 's version of Twitter jumped to Ye 's defense . `` Do n't suspect other people 's success while you never saw how hard they fought for it , '' wrote one netizen on Sina Weibo , while another wrote : `` Why doubt her success ? She has won the match and that 's it , disgusting BBC . '' According to a profile in the China Daily last year , Ye was just seven years old when she told her mother she wanted to become a swimmer . She joined the Zhejiang provincial swimming team in 2007 and the national team the year after . Since the age of 14 , Ye has scored a number of victories in national and international competitions . She took the top spots in the 200 meter individual medleys in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou and the 2011 World Aquatic Championships in Shanghai . Ye has attributed her success to her training regime . `` If the coach asks me to practice 10,000 meters , I would never be a lazy player to swim 9,900 meters instead , '' Beijing Morning News quoted her as saying . Q & A with Olympic swimmer Cullen Jones .
Chinese teenager who beat world record to swim again Monday . Ye Shiwen beat Ryan Lochte 's 50m split in relay Saturday . The 16-year-old swimmer was born with a rare genetic condition called hydrocephalus, which causes the brain and skull to expand when water is forced into it. Lochte : `` It was pretty impressive ... she might have beat me ''