Sun Yang is one of the most controversial people in the swimming world. Yang is the first Olympic athlete to win gold medals in three different categories of freestyle swimming. But it seems like the doping suspicion on him will never be lifted.
A news article published in The Sunday Times in January 2019 confused the swimming world. The news stated that Sun Yang violated the doping protocol at his home on September 4, 2018 and that the Chinese swimmer was in danger of being banned for life.
Subsequently, the Chinese, especially Sun Yang's lawyer, claimed that the allegations were false and that the news in question had damaged the swimmer's reputation.
Sun Yang, who made his big debut in 2011, attracted attention by winning gold medals in the 400 and 1500 freestyle races and silver medals in the 200 freestyle at the 2012 Olympic Games.
Since that day, British and Australian swimmers in particular have brought up the claim that Yang was doping from time to time. As a matter of fact, in 2014, the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency reported to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) that banned trimetazidine was found in the samples taken from Sun Yang. While Yang was sentenced to three months, he said that he was diagnosed with heart palpitations in 2008 and that the doctor prescribed trimetazidine for this reason.
Sun Yang (born 1 December 1991) is a Chinese Olympic and world-record-holding competitive swimmer. In 2012, Sun became the first Chinese athlete to win an Olympic gold medal in men's swimming. Sun is the first male swimmer in history to earn Olympic and World Championship gold medals at every freestyle distance from 200 to 1500 metres. A three-time Olympic gold medalist and eleven-time world champion, he is the most decorated Chinese swimmer in history. In 2017, NBC Sports described him as "arguably the greatest freestyle swimmer of all time".
The Chinese swimmer stated that he did not know that WADA had banned trimetazidine. The point that left a question mark in mind about the incident was why the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency reported the incident to WADA six months later. After this punishment, Yang was subjected to harsh words from Mack Horton, who surpassed him in the 400 freestyle in Rio 2016 and became the Olympic champion. The Australian swimmer said, "I have neither respect nor time for dopers."
While the shadow over the Chinese swimmer came to the fore again with the news of The Sunday Times, many question marks also appeared. The incident was as follows: On September 4, 2018, three people authorized by the International Doping Testing and Administration went to Sun Yang's house for a urine and blood test. After Yang's team made the three officials wait for an hour, the Chinese swimmer simply gave a blood test. After the test, under the instructions of Yang's mother, Yang and his bodyguard smashed the sealed tube containing the sample with a hammer and tore up the officials' documents.
Officials reported the situation to international authorities. The Sunday Times claimed that Yang could be banned for life for this behavior. However, Sun Yang's lawyer and the Chinese Swimming Federation shared different details. According to the lawyer, the transaction was null and void. This was because the three officers did not show their identity cards and authorization letters (DCO) issued to organizations authorized to conduct such tests.
It was also revealed that the International Swimming Federation (FINA) held a session on November 19, attended by Sun Yang and test officials. While the Chinese Swimming Federation said that the FINA confirmed that Yang did not violate any rules, it pointed to the FINA Doping Panel on January 3, and after the 13-hour meeting, it was stated that Sun Yang was cleared of any illegal action. It was also claimed that WADA was not satisfied with FINA's clear decision.
In this environment where everyone blamed each other, the British did not remain indifferent to the incident. Swimmer James Guy tweeted asking how Sun Yang's doctor, Ba Zhen, who had been suspended twice before, was still involved in the sport. Among those who liked the tweet was Mack Horton. Former European Champion Lizzie Simmonds also joined the criticism bandwagon: "Sun Yang constantly fails doping tests or destroys his samples, constantly evading punishment. He's like the Harry Houdini of doping control."
February 2020
Chinese record-breaking swimmer Sun Yang received an 8-year ban for doping
Three-time gold medalist Chinese swimmer Sun Yang, who won China's first medal in the swimming category in Olympic history, was banned for 8 years for evading a doping test.
Sun Yang refused to take a doping test in September 2018.
In the statement made by the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), it was stated that the lawsuit filed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against Sun Yang and the International Swimming Federation (FINA) was found to be justified and the athlete was banned for 8 years.
It was noted that Yang, who was previously banned for 3 months due to doping in 2014, had his sentence increased to 8 years because he committed the same crime for the second time.
Although Sun Yang did not agree to take a doping test in September 2018, FINA decided in January 2019 that the Chinese swimmer did not violate doping rules.
Speaking to the Chinese state news agency Xinhua, Yang said, "This is injustice. I believe I am innocent. I will appeal the decision and people will learn the truth." The Chinese Swimming Association (CSA) also expressed their deep regret over the incident and announced that they supported the Chinese athlete.
Life story
Sun Yang was born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. He graduated from the Zhejiang University Department of Physical Education in 2010.
Sun Yang grew up in a family that was involved in sports. His father, Sun Quanhong, left the village where he was born and raised and went to work in Huainan. Later, he started playing volleyball professionally there but left volleyball and continued his education. He graduated from Shanghai Physical Education Academy in 1989 and started working at Zhejiang University of Science and Technology in the same year. He would later become a professor. His mother, Sun Ming, also has a volleyball background like his father. Therefore, one of the secrets of Sun Yang's success is the athlete genes inherited from his family.
Sun Yang had always been one step ahead of his peers. He was the most talented and fastest-improving Chinese men's long-distance freestyle swimmer. In 2009, there was a great leap forward in his rankings, after winning third place in the Men's 1500 meters freestyle at the 13th World Swimming Championships in August, and in October, at the 11th National Games of China, he faced the Chinese face Zhang Lin in a great fight in all branches he participated in. attempted. He was stubborn, did not give up the fight, and showed a good performance in the men's 200 and 400-meter freestyle competitions. Thanks to this belief, he managed to beat his opponent in the 1500 meters, the most difficult race to endure.