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After six victories, six gold medals and six world records, the question came.

"You follow sports in the United States," an American reporter said to the world's greatest swimmer Michael Phelps. "You know that recent heroes who have done super-human feats like this have always seemed to end up [like] Marion Jones, Barry Bonds. What do you say to the American people who say this is so good, it's too good to be true?"

Phelps barely batted an eye, then launched into his response.

"People can say whatever they want," he said calmly. "I know that I am clean.

"I did Project Believe with USADA [the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency] where I purposely wanted to do more tests to prove I'm clean. People can question all they want. The facts are the facts and I have the results to prove it."

While Phelps had to address a question concerning his performances and drugs, other athletes had to deal with far more serious issues on Friday. Kim Jong-su of the North Korea was stripped of the silver and bronze medals he won in the pistol shooting events. Tests discovered beta-blockers in his system. The International Olympic Committee said the drug decreases the heart rate and helps a shooter relax.

Do Thi Nagan Thuong, a female gymnast from Vietnam, was also sent packing from the Games for failing a drug test. She joined Spanish cyclist Maria Isabel Moreno, who was caught using erythropoietin, and Greek sprinter Tasso Gousis, who was the first athlete here to test positive and be sent home.

Gousis trains with Katerina Thanou and Kostas Kenteris, the Greek runners who ran afoul of the IOC four years ago in Athens when they avoided drug testers until they were barred from the Games. Thanou had asked the IOC to reinstate her for Beijing, but the request was denied.

In April, Phelps signed up with Project Believe with other U.S. athletes, such as decathlete Bryan Clay and sprinter Allyson Felix, to squelch suspicion that maybe, just perhaps, he was doing something to enhance his already formidable abilities.

USADA officials took additional blood and urine samples from Phelps, then checked for human growth hormone, EPO and synthetic testosterone. The USADA then used Phelps's image on its website and also in the agency's My Victory campaign aimed at keeping young athletes away from drugs.

The fact that Phelps has never tested positive is the comeback to those who insist he can't possibly be so good as to be super human. But most everyone is now aware of how Phelps is a natural oddity, with an arm span longer than his height and ankles and elbows that are double-jointed, which assists his strokes. He also has a long torso, size 14 feet and the mental tenacity to swim in multiple events.

For example: On Friday, he won the 200-metre individual medley final, accepted his medal on the podium, then returned to start room, where he put on his cap and goggles and then competed in the semi-final of the 100-metre butterfly. In that race, he started slowly, but was able to pull away at the wall to win his heat with the second fastest time of the day.

Afterward, he spoke of what he's done to prepare himself for a record-setting eight gold medals.

"With a program like I have, I have to work on speed and endurance and all four strokes," he said. "You can't do it on talent alone. A lot of hard work, a lot of dedication. It has been a combination of everything — trying to sleep as much as I can, trying to recover, set up every workout as well as I can and just try to bank a lot of workouts back to back."

U.S. swimmer Dara Torres has been dogged by her share of skeptics, too. She became the oldest Olympic swimming medalist when she swam the final leg of the American 4ƒ|xƒ|100-metre freestyle relay. That gave her 10 medals for an Olympic career that dates back to the Los Angeles Games in 1984.

Last year, at the age of 40, just 15 months after giving birth to her first child, Torres won the 100-metre freestyle at the U.S. nationals and later broke the U.S. record in the 50-metre freestyle.

She, too, went to the USADA and agreed to extra drug testing to silence those who said she couldn't be breaking records at her age without some sort of boost.

"I'm an open book," Torres said. "They can do any kind of test they want for me. ¡K You can't look someone in the eye and say, 'I don't take drugs.' You have to take action."

The Americans took swift action when Jessica Hardy tested positive for a banned substance at the U.S. Olympic trials last month. And other countries (Romania, Italy and Bulgaria) suspended athletes before the Games for doping infractions.

The World Anti-Doping Agency had predicted 30 to 40 positive tests in Beijing and insiders believe the numbers will reach that levels once the athletics competition begins in earnest.

But for Phelps, the insinuations may prove tougher to shake than an Australian freestyler. In an era of tainted stars and fallen heroes, there will always be those who believe the greatest Olympian in history was a product of more than hard work and a lot of dedication.

"I'm down to the last two races," was Phelps's take on his situation. "I'm going to try to rest and prepare myself as best I can."