Viewers watching the non-stop drama of the Summer Olympics unfold have been left divided by one USA gold medalist's "awkward" act of camaraderie.
In the final of the 100m butterfly, Team USA star Torri Huske shocked the sporting world when she upset fellow teammate Gretchen Walsh to claim the gold.
The moment came after Walsh was predicted to smash the current world record in the event.
But it was Huske who shocked the world - and herself - as she glanced open-mouthed in the pool to learn that she had secured the gold medal by just 0.04 seconds, with a time of 55.59 seconds.
Walsh was just a moment away, claiming silver with a time of 55.63 seconds.
China's Zhang Yufei took the bronze medal with a time of 56.21.
"I didn’t know how to process it,” 21-year-old Huske - from Arlington, Virginia - said. "It’s just very overwhelming when you’ve been dreaming of this moment for so long," she added.
However, when the three medalists took to the podium to receive their prize, Huske's heartwarming actions left some viewers baffled.
In a sign of sportsmanship to her Team USA teammate, Huske pulled Walsh onto the top podium alongside her, as their national anthem began to play.
While some hailed the act as a "beautiful gesture" and "pure class", others were left perturbed by the fact that Yufei was left alone on the third podium.
One person asked: "Never seen that done, kinda weird?
A second added: "Awesome but awkward for the bronze medalist".
"Well, they could have included the other young woman. That was kind of rude," a third tweeted.
"Rude to leave out the other girl alone," added one X user, while another echoed: "But they left the bronze medalist all alone down there."
Nevertheless, Yufei has spoken out about another controversy regarding Team China following multiple doping scandals against Chinese athletes.
However, speaking to reporters this weekend, Yufei says that he hopes her swimming rivals will believe that she is clean and competing fair and square.m
In fact, she's claimed to have taken between 20-30 drug tests every month in the lead up to the Paris Games, per ESPN.
Yufei told reporters on Saturday: "I don't think there's a single athlete, Chinese or foreign, who would test positive for doping. They would not want to destroy all the hard work they've put in over the years on doping."
Her comments come after she and 22 other Chinese swimmers were cleared to compete in Paris by the World Anti-Doping Agency after positive tests prior to the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
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