Dafne Schippers insisted she was running clean after taking World Championship gold with a time that saw her become the third fastest woman over 200 metres in history.
The Dutch sprinter clocked 21.63 seconds at Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium to go third on the all-time list behind Florence Griffith-Joyner and Marion Jones.
The former, who died aged 38 in 1998, was dogged by allegations of doping, while Jones was disgraced and stripped of her Olympic medals after admitting to steroid use.
It is the sort of company which will lead to unwanted questions, but Schippers said her performances could be trusted.
"I'm a very happy with my time, at my moment," the former heptathlete said. "I can't believe it at this moment. I know I am clean and I know I work very hard for it."
This is a troubling time for the sport of athletics, with a spate of doping allegations overshadowing the build-up to this year's edition in Beijing.
There have only been two failed drugs tests during the championships, but there remains a serious trust issue.
Schippers' coach Bart Bennema says that doubt should not extend to his athlete and nor should anything be read into her acne - a side-effect associated with doping.
"If you walk down the street in Holland, I can point out 10 girls her age with that skin," he said. "Sometimes you have bad skin.
"I understand that it's one of the things you have when you use something like doping but sometimes you just have bad skin. It's unfair. It's in her family. I cannot help it."
Schippers is the first European to win a major sprint title for over a decade and the fastest ever white woman over 200m.
"I understand the question because she's white but it's not a factor for me," Bennema said. "She just has the right genes. It's the way it is.
"There was a Chinese in the final - Asians can run fast too. It's not a factor for us.
"When they line up it's just eight women that want to run fast, that's it. It doesn't matter."
Jamaica's Elaine Thompson came second with a personal best of 21.66, while compatriot Veronica Campbell-Brown won bronze.