Humiliated three times Sun Yang, the Olympic swimmer, has returned from a four-year doping ban to win his first pool title. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) first punished the Chinese freestyler for eight years in 2020 for shattering blood vials during a test in 2018, the specifics of which he continues to contest.
In 2021, the Court of Arbitration for Sport lowered the punishment upon appeal to four years and three months. It expired in May, making it impossible for him to compete for China at the Olympics in Paris. Rather, the swimmer won his first gold medal following the ban at the Chinese National Summer Swimming Championships, which is held at the second level.
Sun defeated his competitors in the opening 200 meters of the men’s 400-meter freestyle, finishing in 3:49.58—a time far slower than his personal best, an Olympic record established in London in 2012 (3:40.14). Sun’s return follows harsh criticism Chinese swimmers received at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris due to doping claims.